Where There's Life, There's Hope
by WTF123
Summary: When Zira offered Kovu as her "pound of flesh" to Simba, what if Simba had actually taken him? Not to harm him, but to protect him from Zira's brutality and give him a free life in his kingdom. How would this have affected the course of everything? Would Kovu's life change for better or for worse? And most urgently, how would the Outsiders themselves respond to such a sudden move?
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note_: I would like to put this story in special dedication to three particular authors for their help and support in getting this fanfic started. I would like to thank _Autobot00001_ and _snheetah_ for helping me so well with the ideas and planning for this to the end, and I'd like to thank _white pedal_ for helping me write/come up with the opening lines here. This fanfic would not have been possible without the help of these three, and I thank them dearly for each of their support.**

**I do not own The Lion King or its characters. They belong to Walt Disney Studios, and this is strictly for entertainment purposes.**

**Enjoy!**

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_"Come, come! 'While there's life, there's hope!' as my father used to say, and 'Third time pays for all!'"_

_\- Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit (1937)_

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**Prologue**

Within the vast landscapes of Africa was the dry, desolate and remote expanse that was the Outlands. The frigid winds of the early morning blew against the ground, stirring up dust where they went. The sun has not yet risen, and the sky was still dark-blue with only a faint glimpse of daylight visible on the horizon, far beyond the many termite-infested hills of the place.

Nearly everything there was dead. From the plants, to the dried out grass on the desiccated ground, to the animals that once lived there, where all that remained of them was their decaying skeletons lying around. There was virtually nothing at all to eat for any of the rouge lionesses of the single pride that inhabited these Outlands. There were no zebras, antelopes or hippos for them to feast upon, and there was very little water to drink from the drying riverbed. Only once in a long while would they ever find a stray animal to kill and share with one another. And more often than not, that would become extremely unpleasant extremely fast. Every single day was a hellish struggle for the pride of fourteen that lived here, even including their very queen.

Zira.

Standing against the frigid breeze of morning and upon the rocky, dusty ground that dust was stirring upon, the queen of the Outlands unceasingly stared off into the north, hardly ever blinking. She glared at what lay just at the edge of her sight, growling to herself at the mere thought of it: Pride Rock, silhouetted against the clouds and the faint rising sun in the east. Within just a mile or so of Zira's own boundaries lay one of the most prosperous, lush and peaceful kingdoms that these regions of Africa had ever known, and long ago, she herself once lived there with her leader at the time, named Scar. She was the only one he ever showed any kindness to while he was alive, she had been his queen for a time, and Scar had essentially saved her from starvation. (For a while, at least.) But after a long, bloody turn of events, Scar and many of his hyenas had been killed after the return of Simba, the rightful ruler of the Pride Lands. From Zira's point of view, her only true home had been utterly ripped away from under her paws by Simba, who she saw as a cold-blooded tyrant for exiling her and her three cubs shortly before the birth of princess Kiara.

Zira closed her eyes for a moment while she thought about all this, feeling as though her blood could boil just from thinking about Simba. She growled louder now.

"Scar's blood is on his paws… It's on his paws and he knows it…" She said to herself, her thoughts lingering on her former mate now. She ranted to herself, "Simba was never the rightful king. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have to be stuck in these dry, barren, disgusting, pathetic, termite-infested Outlands!"

Zira's gaze fell upon the lands around her as she said this, watching as the wind continued to pick up sand and dust from the ground and spew it through the air. She felt absolutely nothing even as it blew against her beige-colored fur and past her wide, amber eyes with pupils that shared the color of blood. The peckish queen sighed, bowing her head somewhat and catching her breath again after her little rant. Although she wouldn't admit it to herself, she knew living in these regions was slowly beginning to drive her to insanity.

Then, Zira turned her head around, and her gaze shifted to the large, decaying termite mound behind her, where her entire pride was forced to reside. (After her exile, Zira had scrapped together a group of ten lionesses to follow her since she knew it was going to take more than herself to avenge Scar.) The place looked like it was ready to collapse any day now, infested with termites, the walls eroding, and the cracks becoming wider every day. Taking one last look at Pride Rock in the distance, Zira scoffed and walked along the barren ground to the entrance of the termite mound. It was just as dark on the inside as it was on the outside right then. When the queen treaded past the opening and saw her pride sleeping rather restlessly on rocks and hanging flat spaces, her eyes darted from one spot to another, trying to spot a certain pride member within the dark. She took a few steps forward, and decided that it was better to rely on her sense of smell. She sniffed the air for a certain scent, and sure enough, it didn't take long to find it. Her eyes widened slightly as she followed where her nose led her, and in less than a minute, she came across a small space in a corner, between two rocks and upon a particularly dusty spot.

In it, Zira saw her young adopted son, Kovu, sleeping soundly with his head between his paws. His breathing seemed tame compared to usual, his black tuft of fur was tossed back against his left ear, and his brown-tinted pelt seemed scruffy and somewhat unkempt like normal. Zira stood there and looked at him in the dark for a second.

Then suddenly, Zira leaned downward, raised her paw and swiftly swiped it across him, sending a bitter twinge of pain all across his right side. He immediately yelped as his mother struck him, his eyes shooting open and forcing himself to repress a loud, painful scream. Kovu moaned in discomfort, staggering where he now stood. His nightly dreams had just been ripped away from him, like they usually were on mornings like this. The cub reluctantly looked up to his mother, quivering.

"M-mother… Why did you do that?" He asked, sounding frightened.

"Get up, Kovu." Zira said sternly and immediately. "It's time to begin the day's training."

Kovu struggled to stand up on all fours. He noticed outside that the sun had not yet even risen. This was new even for him. Kovu had always been inured to such pain and being struck by his mother every morning like this, but never had she done it so early in the day.

"But it's not even morning, mother." He complained tiredly and innocently. "Please, just a few more minutes?"

Zira growled. "You _will_ get up now, whether you think it's early or not!" She snarled at her son. "You need as much time as you can to learn how to hunt and survive on your own!"

Kovu's eyes twitched, trying their hardest to stay open. But as much of an effort as they did, the young cub just couldn't keep them extended for longer than a few seconds at a time.

"I said get up, _now, Kovu_!" Zira demanded.

Kovu said tiredly, "Please, mother? I… just want to sleep. I promise I'll-"

He never got a chance to finish that sentence. For as soon as Zira heard it, she impulsively roared fiercely and lunged down at him, opening her jaws. She bit down on his tail hard, making Kovu yelp again, only this time even louder. Now his eyes shot wide open, and he began to scream in protest now, his voice rising gradually. A few lionesses around the termite mound stirred and murmured uncomfortably, but none of them took any real notice. They were used to this routine by now.

"You insolent brat! No son of mine is going to defiant like this!" Zira shouted through gritted teeth. High pitched wails coming from the cub were sudden, putting him through extreme agony feeling the lioness's teeth abruptly pierce the skin of his tail. He was almost used to this type of discomfort by now, but it still pained him greatly every time. He couldn't tell if he was bleeding or not.

"S-stop, mother! Please!" Kovu screamed, nearing tears. "Oww, _ah_! T-that hurts s-so bad!"

Ignoring Kovu's painful pleas for her to stop, she rose her head up slightly and started walking towards the termite mound's entrance again, dragging Kovu along the ground. "You will hunt today whether you like it or not!"

Kovu unsheathed his developing claws and ripped them into the dirt, clawing the ground in an effort to break away from the grip of Zira's teeth. But it did no good. His body slid across the dirty, bug-infested soil as he futilely reached for his spot in the mound, squealing in pain the whole time. At that moment, Kovu felt nothing short of utterly miserable.

Soon enough, Zira had reached the outside, where it was still very early in the morning. Carelessly dragging her adopted son by his tail no longer, she let go of him and stood above the cub for just a moment, watching as he gripped his tail with his paws to try and ease the pain. She scoffed.

"You will come with me on a hunting lesson _now_, Kovu." She ordered sternly. "These lands are scarce in food. We need every bit of effort we can get if we are to survive."

Kovu looked up to her, trying to ignore the lone tear that ran from his left eye now. "But mother… " He started.

"No arguing!" She interrupted. "You are going to come with me and that's final!"

Kovu bowed his head. Then, just a few seconds later, Zira perked up at the sound of a voice coming from the termite mound.

"Mother? What's going on?"

It was Vitani; Kovu's sister, and his only trusted ally. She was older than him by several months, but she certainly didn't look it. To an untrained eye, one could've sworn that they were twins of the same age. Kovu turned around and watched as Vitani came over to them, rubbing her eyes with her right paw in the early dawn. She had a look of horror on her face when she saw the small trails of blood on Kovu's tail.

"What are you doing to him now?" She asked worriedly, glancing at her brother for a moment.

Zira glared at Kovu. "Your brother is being defiant, Vitani." She answered. "He refused to join me on the morning hunt, so I had to get him out here the hard way."

Vitani's mouth fell open in shock. "But that's not fair!" She protested. "No one's ever hunted this early before!"

Zira's eyes widened in anger, bringing her face down closer to the female cub. Vitani flinched in fear. "Are you going to defy me as well?!" Zira demanded. Vitani quivered. "N-no, mother, not at all! It's just not fair that-"

Vitani never got to finish that thought. For right at that moment, Zira unsheathed her claws again, brought her paw up and swung it upon Vitani with all her might, making her howl in pain as she was brutally shoved into the dirt. Kovu gasped when Zira struck her, taking a step back in fright. Zira struck Vitani hard enough for her to lose her footing and fall against the ground, stirring up more dust in the wind around her. She whimpered, trying not to scream.

"You stay out of this, Vitani!" Zira shouted, her paw still in the air. "You don't decide what's fair and what's not fair here, _I_ am the pride leader! _Me_, I decide what's right! And I say Kovu needs to learn now so he can hunt and we don't starve to death!"

Vitani started to cry.

"Do you want all of us to die of starvation, Vitani?! Do you?!"

The cub just barely managed to shake her head 'no' against the ground, putting her paws over her face and burying her head into them, not even caring about the fresh slash marks on her shoulder now as they bled onto her body. "No..."

"Good!" Zira shouted, turning back to Kovu, who had his mouth hanging open in shock. He turned away from Vitani and shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see his sister in such agony. He cringed at the sounds of her sobbing.

"Now we'll have no more of this defiance from either of you!" Zira went on. "Kovu! Let's go now before the sun rises."

She started to walk off, expecting her adopted son to follow. The young, brown-pelted lion was in utter shock and dismay. He was used to his mother being hard on him and Vitani, but never like this. This was the first time he ever saw Zira hurt Vitani this badly right in front of him, and now there she was, sobbing like her life was already over. And in some respects, he felt the same way. Zira didn't even hit him terribly often, and when she did, it was never that hard before. His eyes opened to see her once more. So far, this was already turning out to be the worst day of his short life.

"Come on, there's no time for delay!" Zira said again, snapping Kovu out of his thoughts. She stopped walking and looked back to him to see that he didn't follow. He looked up to her and stared into her red, amber eyes for a moment. Suddenly, however, he grew an infuriated look on his face, surprising Zira somewhat.

"No." He said firmly, making both his mother and his sister gasp suddenly.

"Kovu…"

"No!" He shouted again, this time louder. "I don't want to! Vitani needs my help!"

He darted over to his older sister and gently put a paw over Vitani's bleeding slash marks, trying to wipe away some of the blood. "Are you okay, Vitani?" He asked fearfully. The cub looked up to her brother, her eyes already bloodshot. "Y-yeah. Thank you, K-… Kovu…" She stuttered through tears.

Zira snarled loudly, coming back up to him. "All right then, if that's how you're going to be to the one who loved and raised you, Kovu, then perhaps it's time for a lesson of a different sort today!"

The lioness forcefully came over to him and raised her paw and claws again, this time fully prepared to strike them both together. She roared.

"Zira, what are you doing?! Stop!" Suddenly cried another voice.

Startled, Zira's claws retracted and looked back over to the termite mound with wide eyes, this time seeing her only other son, Nuka, running over to them at full speed. His dull, grey-brown fur was greasy and scruffy-looking like usual, and his developing black mane was still a mess like always. But still he ran, his eyes focused on his two younger adopted siblings. He cried out again,

"Stop it! Stop it, now!"

He darted up to his mother and grabbed onto her raised paw, stopping her from moving it downwards. He forced it away with his teeth barred, making Zira roar at him now. Nuka stepped away from her, ignoring the fact that Zira looked like she was ready to kill him now.

"What do you want?" She asked carelessly. Nuka gave his mother a stern look.

"Mother, this is going too far!" He said firmly. "You can't expect them to hunt this early! They're kids!"

Zira scoffed. "Don't be a fool, Nuka, I was only asking Kovu to hunt! Not Vitani."

"You know what I mean!" He argued. "This whole thing is going way too far! How could you hit your own cubs like that, adopted or not?! No mother of anyone should be allowed to do that!"

From nearby, Kovu and Vitani watched this go on with their eyes wide, feeling absolutely dumbfounded. Neither one of them had ever seen Nuka act like this before. Usually he never paid much mind to either of them, and Kovu knew for a fact that his adopted brother was deathly jealous of him for being chosen to be Scar's heir, despite not being his son. But now here Nuka was, calling Zira out on their suffering for the first time. When that happened, that was when Kovu officially knew that today was going to be a very different day than usual indeed.

"They must learn, Nuka!" Zira argued back. "How else is our pride to survive?"

"Not like this!" Nuka protested again, glancing at Vitani as she stopped sobbing for a moment. "Here, why don't I handle them for now?"

Zira raised an eyebrow at her oldest son now. "What? You?"

"You go on your hunt, and I'll take care of them until you get back, okay? _I_ can watch them."

There was a long moment of silence that came to pass after this, broken only at first by the soft breeze of dawn. Nuka noticed that the sun was starting to rise in the east, lighting the lands around them at last as the dark blue skies and clouds gradually turned to that of light pink and red. Nuka could tell that Zira was in deep thought about something, most likely involving either Scar or Simba. Kovu and Vitani both decided to stay quiet just to avoid starting any more trouble, feeling absolutely terrified for what could happen to their older brother now.

Soon, Zira chortled, her face loosening up at last. She took a deep breath. "Under your care, they'd probably be dead before the sun fully comes up."

Nuka persisted. "I can take care of them, mother! Trust me! Just because dad didn't choose me to be heir doesn't mean I can't do anything!"

He took a moment to catch his breath. "And besides, you said it yourself: Someone needs to hunt before the sun comes up. It might as well be you since you're out here."

Following another moment of quietness, Zira bowed her head.

"Very well, Nuka." She said reluctantly, her tone softening. "Never let them out of your sight, and be certain to teach Kovu his fighting techniques for the day."

Nuka nodded, even though he had absolutely no intention of doing that last part. "Yes, mother."

"Good." She said, moving her face in closer to his now. Her tone slowly got more and more tense again as she finished. "I will be hunting in the grasses near the river. If you lose either Kovu or Vitani… I may very well reunite you with Scar like you wanted…"

With a last heavy breath and her eyes wide at Nuka's terrified look, Zira turned around and gave an utterly malevolent look to Kovu and Vitani, who were still quivering in fear as she walked past them. Heading in the direction of the drying river that marked their boundaries, she soon disappeared from their presence at last. Nuka watched her walk off with scorn apparent on his face. Sighing, he closed his eyes for a moment and walked over to Kovu and Vitani, who both carefully stood up and looked up to him with absolutely shocked looks on their faces.

"Nuka…" Vitani started. The lion interrupted.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked them earnestly. Kovu shook his head as his sister's posture drooped in pain. "Vitani's hurt real bad." He answered. Nuka nodded.

"Yeah, I know, little termite." He said to Kovu. Vitani put her paw over the slash marks on her shoulder, pressing her arm against her chest in addition. She cringed.

"I'll take care of her."

Then, as Vitani moved her paw again to wipe away the tears from her eyes, Kovu turned to her, glancing at her slash marks. They didn't seem as deep as he thought they were.

"Vitani?" He said, getting her attention. "Why does mother hate us?"

Vitani bowed her head. "She doesn't hate us, Kovu. She's just mad."

"Yes she does." Kovu replied, his voice sounding soar from the screams he uttered earlier. "She hurt us real bad, how can she love us? She made you act weird too, Nuka!"

They could hear that the child was near tears, his words sounding heavier with each one. This time, both Nuka and Vitani came up to the cub to comfort him as best as they could. Vitani put her paw on his back, while the older lion kneeled down to face him eye-to-eye.

"Listen, Kovu" Nuka started. "I… I know I'm not usually like this. You're probably just used to hearing me call you names and pushing you around like I do. But… even I can't let her go this far you. Mother doesn't hate you, Kovu, I promise. This is just how things work with her."

The young cub nodded, still uncertain about the subject matter. Vitani then began in a comforting voice, trying to ignore the pain in her shoulder, "Hey Kovu?"

He turned to his sister, trying his best not to burst into tears of sadness. She said, "It… it was really cool of you to stand up for me like… like that earlier."

Kovu reluctantly and slowly nodded. "Thanks, Vitani." He replied sadly.

Then, bowing his head in despair with his ears drooping, Kovu sighed. "I want to go for a walk now." He muttered. Nuka looked over to him again. "W-well sure, Kovu. Where do-?"

Kovu cut him off. "No… I want to go by myself. I want to think about some things on my own."

It took a moment for either of them to respond, and the wind was the only thing keeping this moment from being both silent and motionless. "But… but Kovu, mother said I can't let you go." Nuka finally said. "What if you-?"

"I won't go far." Kovu cut him off, his tone sounding sad. "I… I just want to be alone right now."

Nuka and Vitani exchanged uncomfortable glances. "You promise you won't go too far off, Kovu?" Nuka asked concernedly. The cub nodded, and the teenaged lion sighed.

"Okay then… go ahead, little termite."

And with a sigh, he turned away with a deepening heart, and no more words to say. Vitani felt as though she wanted to say one last thing to him before he was to depart, but she decided against it seeing as though he wanted to be alone. He went off into the northward direction, heading for the river. As Kovu walked away from his two siblings, he started to feel his eyes moisten, and soon enough, he began to sob to himself quietly.

From behind, Nuka simply looked down to Vitani, sighed, and whispered to himself,

"Poor kid…"

Kovu treaded into the unknown (To him, at least) for quite some time, feeling as though he were walking in circles at one point. As he wandered aimlessly around the edges of the Outlands, he thought many things to himself as he tried his best to stop crying. Zira had always told him that crying was a sign of weakness, but at that moment, he didn't care. All his life, the cub had known almost nothing but cruelty. The feeling of pain inflicted by Zira was something he was becoming inured to, but never to the extent that he had seen that morning.

_What was it that made mother so mad?_ He thought. _She's never been that angry before._

Kovu took deep breaths while he walked, looking around him to see all of the dead trees, decaying skeletons and distant mountain ridges that surrounded the place. From above, the sun was rising quickly, and soon, the sky was turning to that of a pleasant blue like it normally was. But it didn't help much to mask the barren lands he lived in.

Then, the cub had reached the river that marked the boundary between the Outlands and the Pride Lands. He didn't come here very often, so he took little notice of the fact that he had wandered into the heart of a bog. Feeling weary, Kovu sat down beside a fallen tree that spanned the shallow, murky river, and heaved a heavy sigh.

Although his brutal lifestyle had always been etched firmly into his mind by then, Kovu was certain that the way Zira did things was wrong. He knew it couldn't be right. She had always talked about how king Simba was a heartless killer across the river, but each day that passed, it seemed more and more like Zira was in fact the very thing she described Simba as. The cub remembered that, not a week before, he was trying to get a drink from this very same river, or at least what remained of it. Zira had demanded that he stop so he doesn't take more than what he was told to, but he insisted to his mother that he drink for just a little longer. As a result, Zira had actually gripped onto his head and forced it under the water, nearly drowning him. All because he drank more water than he was supposed to, when really, it was far less than that. And that wasn't the first time she had nearly killed him over something minor either, as he recalled.

Then, upon remembering this particular act of cruelty, it happened. Something in Kovu's mind snapped. His tears ceased, and his face changed from sadness to that of infuriation. It was clear to him that if Zira was willing to almost kill him just to teach him a "lesson", she really didn't love him. Not to mention after the display she had put on this morning, he knew that was the last straw.

_This can't be right…_ He thought. _None of it can._

His teeth became barred. He was sick of it. Sick of Zira's abuse. Sick of watching his sister and his brother be tortured all their lives. He was sick of his mother glorifying Scar every day, he was sick of the blazing hot grounds he had to walk on, he was sick of having almost nothing to eat and nothing to drink, and most of all, he was sick of being forced to put up with such cruelty day in and day out, all because he had been the chosen heir of someone he had never even met in person. For all he knew, Zira could've been lying about Scar ever doing that at all, and she just wanted him to be a killer herself. And he would've been willing to bet his very life right then that Simba wasn't even the tyrant that she said he was. Even if he was a bad king like she said, his kingdom had to have been better to live in than his.

"At least the Pride Lands have green growing in them!" He said aloud to himself, his voice echoing to the dead trees around him.

Then, the cub sighed heavily, trying to calm his nerves. "I've had it with everything." He said to himself. "I don't want to live here anymore. I don't _want_ to be a killer."

He wondered exactly what the Pride Lands looked like beyond this river. He had never seen any of the savannas, trees or kopjes that lay ahead, so naturally, he grew suddenly curious. Kovu turned and looked to his right, staring off into what he could see of the tall, green grasses from there with his eyes wide. He gazed on in wonder. Even from there, the place looked like heaven compared to where he and his pride lived; So full of life and so full of hope. How could the Pride Lands look like that if Simba was anything like the tyrant Zira made him out to be? Silently, Kovu wished with all of his heart and all of his soul that he could just have one chance to see what the Pride Lands were really like. He just desired a chance to live away from the brutal lifestyle he was so inured to. He didn't want it to be like that. The cub had always wanted to live a life where he didn't have to be mean to earn his mother's love, didn't have to train to kill every morning, or put up with watching his loved ones suffer like he did that morning. And to him, it looked like the Pride Lands could very possibly offer that. He prayed for a chance to live a kind, peaceful life. Just a single sign and a single chance. That was all he wanted.

Just one chance.

Then, without warning, he abruptly felt someone or something knock into him from the left, off of the fallen tree he was sitting near. Startled from the sudden jolt, he tumbled across the ground and fell flat on his stomach from the impact, knocking him off-guard. He softly yelped when he did. After taking a moment to recover and moan in minor pain, he immediately stood up and growled at the one who had knocked into him. It was on impulse since he was accustomed to doing that to anyone who hit him like that. In front of him now stood another cub, most likely from the Pride Lands. It was a female one, with a light tan pelt, brownish-red eyes, and a red-tinted tail tip. She looked scared of him since he growled at her. Having his stance etched into his mind thanks to Zira, Kovu took a few steps up to her and said as intimidatingly as he could,

"Who are you, Pride Lander?"


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter I**

"You know the penalty for returning to the Pride Lands!"

"But the child does _not_!"

It was amazing for Kovu just how fast things could go so wrong, even with the morning he had just endured.

The cub that accidentally knocked into him turned out to be Simba's own daughter, named Kiara. Soon after meeting her, they were both very nearly killed by the wild alligators that lived in the misty waters of the bog they were in. Narrowly escaping them, Kovu had briefly been able to tell that the way Kiara acted was strange, yet well-meaning. She didn't seem at all like the horrid, bratty shrew Zira said she was, nor did she ever say or do him any wrong after she knocked into him. In fact, the princess had actually saved his life from the alligators minutes before. She seemed playfully nice to him, really, and he was actually beginning to warm up to her frisky personality.

But before Kovu could ask her any questions (Namely about why she was there in the first place), her father had shown up looking like he was out for blood. As fate would have it, Zira did also. She happened to be hunting in the grasses nearby when she spotted Kovu trying to befriend Kiara, and before either of the two cubs knew what was happening, Simba and Zira were at a tense stand-off happening right in front of them, with four other Pride Lander lionesses accompanying Simba. One of which was even Nala herself, his queen, and beside her were Simba's two childhood friends, the warthog and meerkat that were Timon and Pumbaa. Kovu stared at them all with wide, petrified eyes, shaking visibly.

This had all happened in the span of only a few minutes, though Kovu was still trying to comprehend it all. He gazed up in fear at king Simba at first, not having a clue as to what to expect from him or what he was really like. But soon, he felt his fright begin to die down when he watched his confrontation with Zira go on, vaguely hearing something about a pound of flesh of some was the first time Kovu had ever seen the king of Pride Rock in person, but oddly enough, he wasn't nearly as afraid of him as Zira made him think he'd be. He was certainly just as imposing as she said he was, that was for sure, but Kovu could see that he was very protective of Kiara and did seem to genuinely care for her. That was already more than he could say for his own mother. He managed to figure that he was only acting rashly right then because his daughter had nearly been killed. In a way, he understood why he was verbally at Zira's throat right then.

At first, Kovu thought Simba was going to do something bad for having both him and Zira apparently trespass onto his land. He knew coming here was a bad idea. Something in the pit of his stomach didn't feel right when he first went into the grasses with Kiara, and now he knew why. But then, while the cub was lost in his thoughts and only barely paying attention to anything around him, he suddenly shivered upon hearing what Zira said next.

"However…" She started, her tone sounding odd. "If you _need_ your pound of flesh…"

He shook his head and looked up behind her, watching as she took a step up to him. She had an unsettlingly devious look on her face when she did, still glaring at Simba. She kneeled down to him.

"Uhh.. m-mother?" He whimpered quietly. "What are you-?"

And then, it happened. The moment that would essentially change everything, and alter the course of Kovu's life forever.

"…Here."

Without so much as a moment's hesitation, Zira used her snout to push Kovu against the ground and put him directly up to king Simba, where he sat in his shadow now. He nearly screamed when he did, his blood feeling as though it had just turned to ice from what Zira just did. Simba looked briefly looked down upon him as he sat there, trembling in dread. He looked just as lost as the cub did right then.

_Pound of flesh_, he thought._ Pound of…_

He got it now. Kovu understood what was happening. He vaguely heard Simba say that the penalty for returning to the Pride Lands was a pound of flesh, and only after that did Zira push him forth through the grass. He finally made sense of it.

Zira was using him to save herself.

Kovu's emerald-green eyes were wide open in pure fear. His muscles tensed, he felt his whole face become hot, his heartbeat raced, and he shook with terror as he vocally quivered. Kovu had never felt so scared or betrayed in his entire life. Here Zira was, giving up her own cub just so she could get Simba away from her for the time being. At first he trembled at the thought of Simba suddenly taking him and ending his young life right there as Zira said he'd be cruel enough to do. But then, his eyes grew wider still when he saw that Simba did not take him. As a matter of fact, he looked up at Zira with an utterly disgusted look on his face, completely unable to believe Zira had just tried to do what she did. She gave him a devilish smile.

_Your move, Simba _She thought.

And then, something in Kovu's mind snapped.

First she had abused him for as long as he could remember. Then she nearly killed him over the littlest of things, that morning included. But this? Tossing him out to die in front of her worst enemy, leaving him to die? It almost seemed to confirm exactly what the cub had suspected the morning before: Zira didn't love him. No mother, no matter how insane, could ever go as far as to leave their child to die like this, let alone push them into it. He realized that Zira truly was the wrong one to raise him, Outlands or no Outlands. He knew Simba couldn't be this bad. He just couldn't have.

And then, something began to echo through Kovu's mind. Something he himself had thought only minutes ago.

_Just one chance… Just one chance._

The thought struck him like a clawed swipe directly to the face. He had prayed for an opportunity to just be in the Pride Lands for one day, and now here he was in front of Simba himself, offered to by Zira. He understood. This was his chance. This was the hope he had prayed for, appearing right in front of him. Kovu realized that his thoughtful prayers may have just been answered. He just needed to take that chance and make it happen now.

This was his chance. His one chance.

Kovu's eyes twitched as he struggled to form words. Simba opened his mouth to say something else now, but before he could, he heard Kovu start to mewl loudly, making both him and Zira look down to him now as he shook.

And then, Kovu began to cry. Right there in front of his mother who had just tossed him aside like he was a play-thing to her, he shut his eyes tight and bawled his heart out for all to see. Tears fell down his face for the second time that day as his posture collapsed, and once this happened, both Simba and Zira did a double-take. Neither one of them had expected him to do this.

"S-Simba!" He shouted through his sobs. "Ple-…p-please! Help me!"

He fell to the ground on his stomach, his paws reaching out for Simba as he watched in shock at what he was doing. By now, all four of the other lionesses had taken notice of what was going on, and they all came up beside Simba to get a good look at the scene. Even Timon and Pumbaa seemed to be in shock, to say nothing of how Kiara looked as well.

"Kovu, what are you doing?!" Zira demanded, coming up to him now. Kovu ignored her as best as he could and continued.

"T-take me, Si-Simba!" He sobbed loudly, his cried echoing around them. "I don't want…. to l-live with my m-mother anymore! She hurts us s-s… so bad! Mother doesn't l-love us at a…all!"

Zira's mouth opened as she gasped, before her teeth bared suddenly upon hearing her son's words, realizing what he was doing. "Kovu, you stop this right now!" She screamed heartlessly. "We'll have no more of this, you little-"

"_Shut up_!" He unexpectedly screamed back at her, making Zira flinch. She growled intensely at him.

"Kovu…" Simba finally began, seeing this go down. "What are you talking about?"

The cub cried, with his voice sounding soar, "I-I want to live with y-you in the Pride Lands, king S-Simba! Please! Mother doesn't… doesn't love me anymore! She… she makes me hunt for food the second I w-wake up, she hit-…hits me all the time, she doesn't let… me s-sleep! She yells at me for… for not killing the mice! I don't w-want to hurt anyone, S-Simba! I don't want to k-kill! Please! She doesn't… l-love me! You have to help me! Please!" And there, he simply broke down in tears again, covering his eyes with his paws and falling to the ground on his side. Simba's eyes widened in distress as he listened to Kovu's story, giving him a look of utter pity. It was nothing short of misery having to watch this poor cub grovel before him and beg with all his heart to be taken away from his mother. He couldn't believe what he was hearing or seeing at all.

The king thought to himself_, Did… did I cause this? He's only out there with her because of me… I did this. Oh father, what should I do?_

Simba, giving him a sympathetic look, leaned down to him and asked softly, "Kovu… Is this true? Zira really does all of this to you?"

The cub nodded. "Yes!" He shouted sadly. "She does it to me, my sister, my brother, and everyone else too! She… she almost k-killed us this m-morning, when the sun w-wasn't even up! I d-don't want to live there anymore!"

Suddenly, Nala spoke up. "That's terrible! She shouldn't have the right to do that to anyone, let alone her own cubs!"

"You stay out of this, Nala!" Zira hollered.

Standing beside her father's front leg, Kiara was horrified at what was happening before her very eyes, and how her new friend was now pleading to live with them. Her mouth fell open, and her ears drooped in sadness. She hadn't even met this cub five minutes ago, and already she had caused him to do this all because she wanted to sneak out. Kiara wished that she had just stayed on the path now, for it utterly pained her to see anyone at all like this. The princess felt awful. She knew she was at least partly to blame for this. She looked ready to cry herself now as she took a step forth. Kovu glanced at her for just a brief moment.

"I'm sorry…" Kiara whispered to him.

Beside the princess, Nala also listened intently on what Kovu was saying, and she could just see the sincerity in his bloodshot eyes. Soon, once he stopped speaking and started to sob to himself, Nala looked up to Zira and gave her the dirtiest glare she had ever given. She looked thoroughly revolted at what she was making her own son do, and she growled at her for it seconds later.

"Some mother you are." She softly said, half to herself and half to Zira. Hearing this, however, the Outsider queen roared in front of all of them, startling the Pride Landers immensely. Then, she forcefully put her paw out and gripped onto Kovu, making him mewl in fear again. She made sure to unsheathe her claws and dip them into his skin, making him yelp.

"You've _really_ done it this time, Kovu!" She shouted through gritted teeth. "You will have nothing to do with these Pride Landers, or so help me I will kill you where you stand!"

She furiously struck his side with her other paw, making the Pride Landers jump in shock, confirming that everything Kovu had told them was indeed true. Kovu screamed in pain, ignored completely by his mother. Simba and Nala both cringed.

"You're an idiot for telling them about this, Kovu! A blithering idiot! You're no better than Nuka, it's none of their business what I do!"

She shoved him off to the ground for a moment, clearly enraged at him. She fumed through her breathing as she watched Kovu wail of sadness. Then, she looked back up and screamed at Simba, "You will not get involved in our affairs, Simba! You leave my cub alone, and _maybe_ I'll leave yours alone!"

There was a brief moment of silence that came to pass. Simba felt the sensation of a soft breeze through the air, and as it did, he knew he had to do something. He couldn't just stand by and let this happen on his own land, especially when his own daughter was watching. He gritted his teeth in uncertainty.

"Poor kid…" The lion heard Timon mumble to Pumbaa from behind.

But then, just as Zira carelessly reached for Kovu to drag him back home, Simba's impulse finally took over. He knew what he needed to do to end this poor child's suffering at last. Without anyone expecting it, the king quickly reached out his own paw, gripped onto Kovu firmly (yet gently), and pulled him up to him. It happened slowly, and the cub gasped when he did it. Nala's eyes widened, and the other three lionesses's mouths opened in shock. Even Timon and Pumbaa seemed caught off-guard by their friend's action. Simba had just taken Kovu.

Zira had a look of utter confusion for a moment before she glared at Kovu again. "What the-? Simba… Give Kovu to me! Now!" She demanded. Simba narrowed his eyes, grew an absolutely disgusted look at her, and he answered as firmly as he could,

"No. Never."

Zira gasped, taking a few steps back in shock. "What?! Just what do you think you're-!?"

"You're not going to hurt this cub any longer, Zira… He's coming to live with us at Pride Rock."

Zira gaped for a moment. "What?! You can't do that!"

"Simba", Nala started. "What are you doing?"

The queen's mate looked over to her with sharp eyes. "Something I should've done a long time ago, Nala."

Immediately, Zira became outraged. She figured out what Simba was doing now, and to say that it angered her would've been a gross understatement. She barred her teeth, growled, and took another firm step forward, making Kovu hide his face against Simba's fur in fear.

"Y-you can't do this! You will _not_ be taking my son, Simba!" She screamed. "You have no right to-!"

"You're on _my_ land, Zira!" Simba angrily cut in, his voice rising suddenly. "You've put your cub through too much, and I never would've known about any of it if it weren't for him! Now as long as he's here, he will _not_ be harmed! Especially by you!"

Kovu was absolutely stunned at what Simba was saying. No heartless tyrant would ever do something like this just for him. He glanced over to Kiara, who was curled up against herself in fear of Zira's outbursts.

"No… no!" Zira bellowed, tensing herself up. "You'll have Kovu over my cold, dead paws!"

And then, Zira leaped forth to attack, making Kovu scream in fear. Even with Simba holding onto him, he knew he wasn't safe from his own mother. And so, Kovu duck his head deep into Simba's fur, preparing for the worst.

But the worst never came for him.

Just as Zira was about to attack, Nala lunged forth on instinct and blocked Zira from her mate, dragging her down to the ground in the process. Seeing what was happening, Nala and Zira began to suddenly claw at each other fiercely.

"Nala!" Simba shouted in horror.

"Mom, no!" Kiara shouted to her mother.

Seeing that the situation was escalating quickly, the other three lionesses took action and ran over to Nala, helping her to fight off Zira. She showed no mercy to any of them, clawing and biting at their necks, their faces, and their eyes. Nala could feel her skin get pierced several times, but she took hardly any notice of it. Simba was about to lurch forth like she did, but when she saw this, the queen shouted,

"Simba, stay there! Keep Kovu safe!"

Reluctantly, the lion did what she wanted. He knew he had to keep the cub under protection if he was going to follow through with what he knew he had to. He gently put his other paw upon his head, stroking the black tuft of fur on it gently. "Don't worry, Kovu…" Simba said. "We're here for you."

Soon after the quarrel started, Zira had effectively fought off all of the lionesses except for Nala, who she was biting at with no mercy. Dust flew up into the air as she tried to push her forth onto the ground and deliver the final blow. But not a second too late, Nala used her back legs to push and then flip Zira over, where she had her pinned, just as she had done on many occasions with Simba before. The malicious lioness tried to fight it and get her off, but it was no use; Nala was too strong for her at the moment. The queen brought her face in close to Zira's, making her eyes widen in sudden fear. Nala's sapphire-blue eyes seemed sharper than they ever did to her.

"Kovu is coming with us, Zira!" She spat. "You don't deserve him, you never did! Look at the poor cub, he's miserable because of you!"

Zira snarled back, "Don't tell me what to do, Nala! Remember that _you_ were the one who exiled us in the first place, this is _your_ fault! Kovu is my son, and I will do what I like with him! I love him!"

Then, out of nowhere, another one of the lionesses who accompanied Simba ran up to her, growling in anger. She unsheathed her claws and gripped them around Zira's neck, prepared to slash it and end her life at any moment now. Zira gazed over in fear when she felt the random lioness prepare for it. Even Nala appeared caught off-guard. Zira gulped and, for the first time in her life, cowered as she listened to this Pride Lander's sudden rant through gritted teeth.

"That's a lie! You wouldn't know true love if it clawed you in the face, you shrew! And don't try to blame this on us, Zira! You're on _our_ land, and you'll do exactly what we say! Simba and Nala exiled you for a reason and you _know it_! Even if we did, you didn't need to treat anyone like this, let alone your own children! What kind of sick mother do you think you even are?! With you they'd probably be dead before they even reach adulthood!"

The lioness paused for only a second to catch her breath, not noticing that Nala's sapphire blue eyes were wide with shock at what she was saying.

"Leave our kingdom right now, or so help me to the Great Kings, it's going to take a _lot_ more than a pound of flesh to get out of this one!"

Kovu struggled to stand up, feeling a newfound sense of faith hearing this lioness of Pride Rock do this for him so soon after first meeting her. And then he looked over to Nala, who still had Zira pinned beneath her. Was this truly the tyrant, heartless queen that Zira had spoken of? Her of all lionesses, who seemed to care so much for her pride and an Outsider cub she had only just met?

Eventually, Zira tightly shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she had no other choice but to leave. If she wanted any chance at avenging Scar in the future, she couldn't have her life ended right there, nor could she leave Nuka or Vitani in the care of the other lionesses in her pride (Mainly because she didn't trust them to do it). Reluctantly, and with her whole body shaking, she stood back up as Nala finally got up off of her, never taking her eyes off of the Outsider lioness just in case she should attack again. The dust around them from the quarrel began to settle. All four of the Pride Lander huntresses were glaring at her, expectedly enough. Zira stood there in the dirt for a moment, took one last look at Kovu, and eventually scowled up to the king.

"This isn't over, Simba." She said, her voice sounding menacing. "You'll see. One day, I'll have Kovu back in my paws, and when I do, I'll finish training him to kill every last one of you!"

_Good thing you'll never have that chance, then,_ one of the lionesses thought to herself.

Zira turned away, preparing to run off at last. But just before she did, she screamed as loud as her lungs would allow, "_Some heir you are, Kovu_!"

And with that, the heartless lioness bolted off into the grass, heading back for the Outlands across the river. They heard her ranting to herself as she did, and it took a while for the sounds of her running and fuming to subside. Then, silence fell upon the place when the last of the dust calmed. It was all over. Zira was gone now, and the young, brown cub finally lifted his head out of Simba's fur to see once he stopped hearing her voice. He looked up to the king with tears in his eyes.

"Wh… what happened?"

Simba glanced over to Nala, who looked very weak right then. She sighed.

"Zira's gone, Kovu." She answered him. "She can't hurt you anymore."

As soon as she said this, Kovu's tears almost seemed to disappear completely. He couldn't believe it. It felt as though a great shadow had just been lifted from his life, and that a lifelong wound was healed by the Great Kings themselves. He was no longer with Zira. Kovu let go of Simba's paw, stood up and walked forth, surrounded by the four lionesses who had just fought off Zira. None of them knew what to say.

"You said you wanted to come with us, Kovu?" Said Simba from behind, making Kovu look back to him. The cub nodded, prompting the lion to finally smile at him a few seconds later.

"Well then… consider it done, Kovu."

His eyes widened in shock. He had to be dreaming. He knew he had to have been. Never before had he experienced a miracle such as this, and now here it was happening before his very eyes.

"Am I… am I a Pride Lander now?" He asked the king quietly. As an answer, Simba walked over to him, kneeled down and placed his paw on his back, stroking it gently.

"Absolutely, Kovu. You're one of us now."

And then, Kiara suddenly leapt forth, her impulse taking over right then as well. She went over to Kovu and looked at him for a moment, not having a clue as to what to say or do. His emerald green eyes stared intently at her.

"Kovu…" She started to her new friend. But just then, Kovu abruptly leaned into her and rested his head on her shoulder, pulling her in with his paws for a tight embrace. He began to cry again as he did, only this time, he wept tears of joy. His prayers had just been answered. He was a Pride Lander now.

"Thank you, Kiara…" He wept. "Thank you for f-finding me. You're... you're the best!"

Soon the princess returned the embrace, and the two cubs began to tightly hug one another there for all to see. Kovu licked Kiara's cheek, making her giggle. Although she had regretted ever coming to the Outlands only minutes ago, she now saw that at the very least, it had led to this. And as this happened, the lionesses surrounded them both, intently wanting to see their new young pride member.

Nala kneeled down and carefully put her paw upon Kovu's back. She put her head down to him and began to nuzzle the cub as if he were one of her own. "Oh, you poor thing…" She said calmly. "Are you all right now?"

Kovu looked up to the queen and slowly nodded. "I think so. It hurts in a lot of places, though."

"Well don't worry, young cub." Simba said now. "You won't have to feel like that ever again. You're safe with us, I promise."

"I can't believe she would do that!" Timon suddenly said, hopping off of Pumbaa's head and walking closer to Kovu now. The meerkat threw his arms forth. "How could you live with her for so long, kid? I wouldn't have lasted a day!"

"More like an hour, Timon." Pumbaa muttered, which made him raise an eyebrow. "Watch it, Pumbaa, you're on thin ice as it is!"

Seeing the warthog and meerkat's brief playful banter made Kovu laugh softly, raising his spirits immensely. He looked around him to get a good look at Nala and the other three lionesses who had fought just for him. He felt unspeakably privileged for them to have done that for him.

"We had no idea things were that bad in the Outlands, Kovu." Nala said to him. "It was a good thing you told us when you did."

Kovu nodded, wiping his tears away. "T-thank you... queen Nala."

The lioness chuckled. "Just call me Nala, you don't need to call me queen every time."

Then the cub looked over to the other three, specifically the one who had ranted to Zira so fiercely about her actions. He grew a curious look. "What's your name?" He asked her.

The lioness perked up, cleared her throat and smiled. "I'm Nadra, Kovu. We're never going to hurt you, it was very wrong what Zira did to you."

The cub smiled. "I know. Thank you for… for doing that for me."

Nadra nodded. "Ah, it was my pleasure, Kovu. Zira's had that coming since before you were born anyway."

Kovu looked upon her intently. Nadra seemed to look very similar to the other two lionesses that were beside her; She had a tan-shaded pelt, a light-shaded underbelly, a light-violet colored nose, and red eyes that didn't look nearly as malicious or intense as Zira's were. Her voice was calm and soothing, once again opposite to Zira. He could feel that this lioness must have truly cared for him to say and do what she did.

Finally, Simba cleared his throat. "I think it's time we head home now. All of us."

That last part he said while glancing down to Kovu. Kiara separated from him and wiped his tears off of her shoulder. Kovu then asked, "So… where exactly is home, Simba?"

As an answer, the king stepped forth and lowered his head, motioning for Kovu and Kiara to both hop onto his back.

"Hop on, you two. I'll take you there." He said.

While it was amazing for Kovu just how fast things could go so wrong, it was even better to know how fast things could go so right.


	3. Chapter II

**Chapter II**

Simba had been kind enough to the young cub to allow him to rest on his back, so he could carry him to his apparent new home. After all that had gone down the day before, Kovu felt like he needed it dearly. Kiara, who was already growing attached to her new friend, decided to join him on his back, which Simba allowed. The king watched as Kiara allowed Kovu to rest himself against her body, placing his head against her right shoulder. He smiled at the sight. And with that, Simba and the Pride Landers slowly turned away from the swamp and began the long walk back to Pride Rock. Kovu took one last look at the spot before he sighed, shut his eyes, and whispered to himself, "Goodbye, mother…"

The youthful Outsider felt Kiara kneel down and lay on her stomach, digging into her father's fur for warmth. Kovu decided to join her, and he rested his paw against her arm, his eyes still closed. He truly felt completely exhausted, and it took him a minute to want to open his eyes again. When he did, Kovu realized that he had the chance to finally get a good look at jus what the Pride Lands actually looked like, exactly as he had wished for earlier. He had found that his world had changed forever. Below him was the soft, green savannah grass that seemed to spread out for miles, blowing in the wind sweeping against the small hills and kopjes covering the place. The scattered trees no longer appeared dry, dead and lifeless to him; but instead, they were filled with savannah leaves, plants and life as full as they could be, and the cool breeze going against his fur soothed him greatly. It wasn't cold or brisk like he was used to. He saw many flocks of birds flying above in their formations, animals dotting the savannah, plentiful as could be. Many of them he had never even seen before in such quantities, and some not at all. Zebras grazing, giraffes nipping leaves off of trees, antelope and gazelles leaping over the hills, leopards eating their prey, hippos resting in the rivers and lakes, and massive, bulky elephants keeping watch of their surroundings, as though they were guarding their territory. The sight of such a beautiful, lush land against an orange sunset sky virtually took his breath away completely.

_Even the other animals look happy_, he thought to himself.

Before he could study the place any further, Kovu faintly heard Kiara start to purr as she pressed her paw against his own, which made him look over to the princess tiredly. She was smiling at him, looking as happy as could be while she lay on her stomach beside him

"I'm glad you got out of there, Kovu." She said at length. "My daddy's going to take good care of you from now on."

Unsure of what to really say to this, Kovu simply took a deep breath and replied, "Thanks, princess."

The young Outsider cub could tell now that Kiara wasn't anything like the spoiled, selfish brat Zira said she was, nor was Simba the heartless, bloodthirsty tyrant he had been led to believe. He knew that the Pride Landers in general were not evil. The Pride Landers, who were complete strangers to him up until now, had shown him infinitely more care and protection in one hour than Zira had in her whole life of having him. True, Kiara's unusually pleasant behavior and her consistently happy mood was strange to him at first, but now he seemed to be warming up to it. It didn't feel wrong to him like Zira said it should.

Suddenly, Kovu felt Simba stop walking below him, and he perked his head up. Beyond him, he saw the other lionesses continuing to walk forth, each of them giving a look behind them.

"Simba?…" Nala said to her mate. The king simply nodded to her as she stood ahead.

"I'll take care of it." He said softly. "Tell Zazu to call for a gathering at Pride Rock for me, Nala. We need to tell the kingdom what's happened."

Nala smiled earnestly at his words, nodded, and then walked off with the other lionesses, who were all heading in the direction of Pride Rock. Once she was gone, Simba cleared his throat and lowered himself beside a flat tree stump resting about a foot off the ground. Seeing what he meant by this, Kiara stood up and went past Kovu, leaping down onto the stump. Kovu soon followed. Soon, the two cubs regained their footing and stood beside one another upon the old stump, turning around to look up to Simba again. Neither one of them could tell what he was thinking by the look on his face; He seemed confused and yet sympathetic at the same time. His eyes closed, and he took a deep breath.

"Some things really do come by surprise in life, don't they?" He began. Faintly, the lion heard Kovu say under his breath, "You can say that again…"

Kiara cleared her throat, trying to seem innocent. "Daddy…?" She started at length. Simba's eyes opened again, looking at his daughter intently.

"Kiara…" He started. "I don't know what you were thinking in heading off to the Outlands like that. You could've been killed today."

Kiara's expression almost collapsed in on itself. "I know. But daddy, I didn't mean to diso-"

"We specifically told you that the Outsiders were dangerous and out for blood in there." Simba interrupted, his voice starting to become stern. "Why did you do it, Kiara?"

He saw her composure begin to fail as a single tear fell from the corner of her left eye, and her ears drooped, looking away from her father now. "I… I just wanted to know what was else out there, daddy. It just… it looked so cool to me, and I…"

At this point, the cub's voice began to break down, sounding as though she were ready to weep. Kovu gave her an anxious look, hating to see his new friend like this. Kiara knew for certain that she was wrong in disobeying her father's direct orders to stay out of the Outlands, and the reality of what could've happened to her was only now beginning to sink in, almost as if it were a massive stone plunging to the bottom of a pond, sending ripples all across the surface of it. And Kiara felt like those ripples right then were the feeling of guilt and culpability of her actions running across her body. And this feeling was not unknown to Simba, either. His face lightening slightly, he did his best to calm himself down and take a deep breath. Reaching his paw forth, Simba placed it gently on his daughter's back, making her look up to him again.

"I know that you're curious, Kiara." The king began, hoping his daughter's tears would subside. "I was too when I was your age. But you need to be careful. I… I can't even think about what any of us would ever do if we lost you. You took a big risk in going there today."

"I know…" The princess sniffed, trying to wipe her tears off her cheek with her paw. As this went down, Simba briefly glanced over to Kovu, only to see that he had a rather surprised look on his face. He was going to question it, but decided against doing so at the last second. Then, the king reached his paw over to beneath Kiara's chin, lifting it up slightly.

"But with that said, sweetie… It would be dishonest of me to say nothing good came of it."

He looked down to Kovu again, this time keeping his eyes firmly fixed upon him. Kiara gazed over to the other cub as well, her tears finally ceasing. "If you hadn't run off the way you did, we might never have known just how bad Kovu really had it out there, and we never could've saved him."

"Yeah… I guess so." Said Kiara, lifting her head up after Simba released his paw from her once more. Finally deciding to speak to the former Outsider again, the king asked him, "How are you feeling right now, Kovu?"

It took a moment for him to think of anything to say, but eventually, he replied, "I… I don't really know. Everything just happened so fast, I still can't believe this isn't even a dream."

Simba nodded. "Well, don't worry. Maybe now things can finally slow down. What's on your mind?"

The cub took another few seconds to think before replying fearfully, "Well… I'm scared about what mother's gonna do now that I'm here. She sounded madder than ever at me. I… I think she might come to try and get me soon. I don't want her to take me back, Simba."

The lion gave the Outsider a sympathetic look before replying softly, "Listen, Kovu… You're one of us now. As long as you're on my land, I promise that I won't let her come anywhere near you. She can't hurt you now."

"You promise?"

"Absolutely." The king replied. "You're safe now, and I swear on the Great Kings themselves that you will be protected here; with us."

Kovu sniveled. "Thank you, Simba. But… it's not just me I'm worried about."

Simba raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I have an older brother and sister back home, and mother's probably gotta be madder than ever at them. She might be taking it out on them right now, and it's because of me."

Simba's eyes widened. Tilting his head up, he whispered to himself, "Vitani?… Nuka?…"

Kovu perked up suddenly. "Wh-how do you know them?"

Simba snapped out of his thought for a moment before he looked from side to side, grew an uncomfortable look on his face and replied, "Oh, uh… Zira told me their names before the exile. But I… never met them before."

That last part he said with extreme uneasiness in his voice, sounding as though he knew something that Kovu didn't. But the cub didn't notice since he was mentally buried so deep in his thoughts.

"I don't want them to get hurt because of me." He said fearfully. Simba sighed.

"You sound like you really care about them, Kovu." He remarked. The cub nodded.

"Yeah, I do." He said earnestly. "Is… is there anything you can do for them, Simba? Like you did with me?"

Seeming to be caught off guard by the question, the king simply closed his eyes, looked past Kovu to the horizon, and fixed his gaze upon the faint, distant sight of what he could see beyond his borders. "I wish there was. But they didn't cross over here like you did, Kovu. Zira still has rightful control over them, and they're still on her land and her rule whether we like it or not."

He looked back down to Kovu, seeing that his ears were drooping. "If there were something I could do to help them, believe me, I would've done it by now, Kovu. I'm… I'm sorry."

The cub sighed, taking a look behind him to the Outlands. "It's okay… I get it." He said sadly, his mind clouded with fearful thoughts of what Nuka and Vitani could be thinking, doing or going through right then. He lowered his head in sadness, wondering if he'd ever get to see them again. It pained him to even think about the possibility of never speaking with them once more. Here, Kiara stood up and saw her friend's sorrow clear as day, and she gave him a sympathetic look. She walked over to him and pressed her head up against his chest, rubbing it against his chin for comfort. She purred when she did, not minding how scruffy or coarse his fur felt at the moment. Kovu let out a faint smile when he felt Kiara do this.

"It'll be okay, Kovu." She said as comfortingly as she could. "I think they'll be all right. At least they'd be happy for you for making it here. I know I would be if I were them."

Kovu smiled wider now. "Thanks, Kiara. I hope so."

The two cubs nuzzled gently for a moment, which made Simba grin at such a sight. Once they separated, the king cleared his throat. "Is there anything else you're thinking about, Kovu? You don't have to be afraid to tell me. But… if you don't want to talk, I'll understand."

Kovu then looked up to him intently, and said timidly, "Well… I'm afraid of what life's going to be for me now that I'm here, really."

Simba raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "What's there to be afraid of?" He asked calmly. "I swear that as long as you're in the Pride Lands, no harm will ever come to you."

Kovu nodded. "I know, but… But what if the others don't like me? The animals here might think I'm just another dirty traitor, or that I'm some kind of liar… just like you said, we're a bunch of dangerous lions out for blood. What if they think I'm still one of them?"

Simba knew exactly what to say to this. Leaning in closer to the cub, and after a brief moment of silence, he began to stroke the back of Kovu's head and calmly ruffle his tuft of black fur with his paw, petting him in a way. Kovu listened closely as he heard the king reply, "Kovu, I promise that you'll be accepted. We're taking you to Pride Rock, our real home. As we speak, Nala's gathering everyone together so we can introduce you. I'll personally tell everyone your story, and explain to them what you told me… How you're different from the other Outsiders, yore not one of them anymore, and that you'd still be in awful pain if you hadn't come here."

He looked up to the setting sun, watching it ever so slowly fall against the horizon and the orange colored sky of twilight, now with a streak of purple up on it. He finished, "And anyone who doesn't like it is going to have to deal with me. As far as I'm concerned, you've always been a Pride Lander. You just started out in the wrong place is all."

Kovu smiled again. "Thank you, Simba."

The king looked back down to him and said calmly, "Any time, Kovu."

He then glanced over to Kiara, seeing that she was still staying very near to the cub. He said, "And maybe now you can know what it's like to grow up with some real friends here as well."

Kovu and Kiara looked at each other for a moment, their expressions seeming very pleasant towards one another. They could tell right from that period of time that they were indeed going to be very good friends. In many respects, they already were, but now they didn't have to be afraid to show it openly to whomever they pleased.

Simba cleared his throat at length. "Speaking of which… We should get going, you two. We need to tell the others about what's happened."

Knowing what the king meant, Kovu and Kiara both tensed themselves up and leapt down from the surface of the tree stump, landing besides each other in the grass. They looked ahead of them to where Simba began to walk forth. They followed him.

"Nala and Zazu probably have everyone gathered there already. We don't want to be late."

And with that, Simba, Kovu and Kiara began the walk to their real home, and to Kovu's new one, moving through the grass and occasionally taking a moment to admire the look of the beautiful sky around them. To the Outsider cub, the touch of soft grass and moist dirt pressing up against his paws with each step was immensely more comfortable than the typical dry dust and hot rocks he was used to. The grass around him felt wet and cool, and it was soothing for it to rub against his fur, damping his pelt slightly. He could already tell that he was going to like the Pride Lands a lot more than the Outlands.

As they went forth, Simba had quite a bit on his mind. Never before had he ever seen an Outsider show such concern or fear for other members of his pride. Beforehand, he had seen the Outsiders as a nearly heartless pride that showed no remorse for anything around them, and that even Vitani and Nuka had been changed to think that way in the time since the exile. But after seeing Kovu show the feelings he did just then, Simba came to realize that maybe some emotion was still left in that pride. Maybe Nuka and Vitani were still at least somewhat innocent like they were the last time he'd seen them. And then he wondered: What if the lionesses on Zira's standpoint still had soft sides to them as well? What if the entirety of the Outsider pride wasn't as wicked or corrupt as he had presumed them to be? What if his entire thought process and his prejudice against them had been wrong? What if the other Outsiders were in just as much pain as Kovu was before?

These questions ran through his mind faster than he could really comprehend, with his entire way of thinking being questioned and thrown into uncertainty. But these impressions were abruptly interrupted when he heard a long, loud gasp come from Kovu. He snapped out of his conscience and looked down to him, seeing what he was gasping at. And as soon as he saw it, Simba smiled brilliantly. He saw that, for the first time, Kovu was gazing upon the magnificent, mountainous form that was Pride Rock. It wasn't until now that it hit Simba that this cub had never seen Pride Rock before, and might never have expected such a thing to exist, even in his land.

For Kovu, surprised hardly did any justice in describing how he felt upon seeing the king's domain. He gazed at its enormous height, its majesty, the near perfect form it stood in, and the sheer look of how imposing its stone sides and promontories were. To him, it really did look like the home of a king. Kiara laughed to herself when she saw Kovu's shock and awe towards the place she had known for her whole life. She remarked to him, "Looks pretty cool, doesn't it, Kovu?"

The cub simply glanced over to her. "You live here?"

Kiara nodded. "Yep. Born and raised, too."

If Kovu didn't feel lucky to live in the Pride Lands before, he certainly did now. The initial sight of Pride Rock was so grand for the Outsider, that he didn't even notice the many hundreds of animals surrounding the front side of the base beneath the tip of it. Nala stood at the edge of the massive stone promontory, Zazu was flying up to her, and they seemed to be awaiting the arrival of their king. Simba took notice of this, and he motioned for Kovu and Kiara to follow him as he quickly went forth. They found the rocky slope-like path that led up to both the promontory and the den, and scaled it with ease. For Kovu, the rocks beneath his paws felt much cooler than the blazing hot ones he treaded across before, and he could just barely tell that they were sightly more moist and dense as well.

"You nervous, Kovu?" Kiara asked him, watching as he followed her. The cub simply replied, "Yeah, a little."

Kiara chuckled. "Don't worry. Whatever happens, at least I'll still like you."

Trying his best to clear his thoughts, Kovu looked up to see the other lionesses of Simba's pride emerging from inside the den of the place, all of them taking notice of Kovu as he and Kiara finally stepped up to the top of the slope. They watched as Simba greeted each of them and spoke to them briefly about the incident. Then they saw Timon and Pumbaa emerge from the inside, both of them looking directly at Kovu.

"How're you feeling kid?" Pumbaa asked him, though Kovu hardly heard. He replied as best as he could, "I guess I'm going to be okay."

Timon spoke up, "Hey kid… Sorry about you mom back there. You ain't alone, really. She's always been a total nut to us too."

Kovu laughed softly. "That's just being too nice right there." He remarked.

The king turned around and walked across the promontory of Pride Rock when he finished addressing the others. He went up to the very edge and stood beside Nala, looking down to see the many different animals that had been gathered there for this. At length, Simba spoke. He addressed his kingdom with confidence and power in his voice as it echoed across the place.

"Ive called each of you here to make an announcement. This was entirely unexpected and unplanned, but it has brought upon us a very lucky and fortunate event… We have a new member of the pride."

Almost instantly, the cheers and happy, thunderous roars of the animals echoed below him. Simba continued as the crowd died down, "Listen, listen! Nala and I aren't expecting another cub; This isn't the usual kind of new addition to the royal family we've always had, but first I must explain. Earlier today, the princess wandered out across the borders and went into the Outlands."

Kiara blushed in embarrassment when her father mentioned this, knowing that the whole kingdom knew about her mistake now. "Way to keep a secret, dad…"

"While there, she met an Outsider cub, named Kovu." Simba went on. "His adoptive mother, Zira, came for them just at the same time I and a few others did. We were about to go our separate ways, when suddenly, Kovu came forth and told me… Something that likely has changed the course of his life."

The Pride Landers all noticed that Simba's voice began to become a bit more strained here, as though he was reluctant to share this with them. But he pushed through with it nonetheless. "Kovu has been horribly abused by his mother much… _much_ worse than any of us could've anticipated. He's been beaten senselessly, pushed beyond his physical limits, forced to hunt and kill when he didn't want to, he's been sleep deprived, and he's nearly starved to death more than once just for trying to earn Zira's love. In short, he was living in the worst possible environment for any cub to ever be raised in."

The crowd of animals became deathly silent as Simba took a moment to catch his breath. If there way anything they could've expected their king to say, it was anything but this.

Simba went on, "And I know that I myself am partially responsible for his suffering for exiling Zira in the first place. And although I stand by my word that her banishment was justified, this young cub does not deserve to be blamed for a crime he didn't commit."

He looked up to the sky as he said this next part. "And that's why I did something I never thought I would do for an Outsider before today: I took him in from Zira. He's with me… no… He's with _us_ now."

Instantly, confused chatter rose up from the animals beneath him. Not wanting any confusion or misunderstandings to arise, Simba clarified. "Kovu came to me, begging for his life to be taken away from his mother so he could live here with us. When he did so, Zira proceeded to beat him right in front of us. Nala, several lionesses and I are the witnesses to his abuse, and that's how we know for certain that Kovu was telling the truth. So on his request, I took him and protected him as we finally got him away from Zira, and ended his suffering like he wanted."

The king cleared his throat before he finally finished speaking. "And I sincerely consider Kovu to be one of us now. He is a Pride Lander, the same as all of you. I ask that you all try your best to accept this brave, strong cub and understand why what happened happened the way it did. He has been put through enough suffering to last a lifetime for anyone, let alone for a cub. I ask that even though he was a part of our enemy pride at one time, you don't make his suffering last any longer now."

And with that, silence fell upon them all. A gentle breeze blew through the air, ruffling Simba's mane slightly. Nala seemed uncertain of what to expect from the animals, while Kovu himself was standing up near the den and waiting for a reaction. And a reaction was exactly what he was about to get.

"And now… It's time that I present to you all the cub we managed to save."

He turned around and unexpectedly said over to him, "Come over here, Kovu. It's time we show them who you really are."

Nervously, the Outsider cub gulped and stepped forth across the stone promontory of Pride Rock, coming ever closer to the very tip of it that he had so wondrously marveled at only minutes before. Finally stepping in between Simba and Nala, Kovu gazed down at all the zebras, giraffes, elephants, antelope and cheetahs that were staring at him intently. He seemed scared of showing himself in front of so many of them, but he knew that this would be the best way to prevent any problems or misunderstandings of him being there in the future. He was about to say something to see what would happen (If anything at all), but before he could, he suddenly heard the thunderous cheers from before beginning to build back up. It started softly, with a few zebras clomping around with their hooves with excitement, but soon, the elephants joined in. Then came in the cheers of the giraffes, the sounds of the elephants, the happy roars of the cheetahs, and the acclimation of the antelope. All of them echoed through the air around them, wailing with joy and acceptance as loud as could be. It was almost too overwhelming for Kovu to see this happen, really. Not twelve hours ago, he was living in one of the most desolate stretches of land that the entire continent had to offer, and now here he was, watching the wails of acceptance and happiness resonate just for him by an entire kingdom he had only just been taken into. And with that, Kovu couldn't help but let out the absolute most vibrant and brilliant smile he had ever made. His mouth fell open, and he gaped with glee when he watched the whole kingdom cheer him on. He felt as though he were about to cry with joy again, and it took every ounce of strength he still had to prevent himself from doing so. His fears had been put to rest. He was now officially an accepted Pride Lander.

The young cub's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Simba speak again, making the crowd below them become silent again. "And as a Pride Lander, Kovu must be raised, cared for, and loved as best as we can possibly offer after what he's suffered. That is why I've decided something: Kovu will be accepted not only as a Pride Lander, but as my new adopted son."

Kovu's eyes shot open and bulged as wide as they could go. He turned around and gasped happily, saying "What? You mean it?"

Simba nodded. "Unless anyone else in the pride would want to take him in as their own, I am more than willing to-"

"Wait! Simba!" They heard a voice suddenly shout from behind. Abruptly turning around, Simba, Nala and Kovu saw one of the lionesses of the pride running right up to them as fast as she could. It took the king and queen a moment to tell who she was, but Kovu recognized her by her voice almost immediately: It was Nadra, the same lioness who had bravely stood up for him earlier.

"I'll take him in, king Simba!" Nadra said, sounding eager and out of breath. "I'll do it! I'll take Kovu to be my son!"

* * *

**Author's Note: I would like to give special thanks and credit to Autobot00001, for helping me work out the dialogue exchange near the beginning of this chapter. He's been a huge help in making this whole story a reality. And no need to worry, all the questions you readers might have about this will be ****answered by the end of the story. Hope you like it, and please review!**


	4. Chapter III

**Chapter III**

By now, Kovu was beginning to get used to things happening so suddenly on that particular day. He watched as Nadra came forth with a confident expression on her face, looking down upon him with apparent excitement. He could see it in her eyes. The young cub observed her as Simba took a moment to comprehend what she said.

"You want to take Kovu in as your own?" He asked, sounding almost confused. Nadra nodded. "It'd be an honor, Simba." She replied, trying to sound formal. "I'll be the best mother than I can be to this cub, I swear it!"

Simba gave her an odd look as the wind began to pick up again, lightly blowing his mane around in the breeze. He could tell that the air was getting cooler from the approach of dusk's end now. Taking notice of the excitement and hope that seemed to fill Nadra's very soul at that moment, he took a light breath and softly nodded.

"Very well, Nadra." He said. "But… before we make anything official, I need to have a word with Nala for a moment on the matter."

Nadra nodded eagerly, seeming more than willing to let Simba say what he had to to his queen. Raising an eyebrow, Nala watched as her mate turned to her and came rather close up to her, looking as though he had to say something that the he didn't want the others to hear. And indeed, he did.

"Simba, what is it?" She asked. Whispering, Simba replied, "Nala… What do you think? Are you sure we should let Nadra take Kovu in like this?"

Nala replied, "W-what are you talking about? Why wouldn't we?"

The king sighed. "It's just… I-I really wanted to take Kovu as our own, Nala. I don't want to tell her no, but… We could finally give Kiara the brother she never had. We could finally have a son again."

Trying her best not to visibly jolt at the mention of this, the queen stared at Simba for a moment, truthfully pondering how to respond. She thought to herself for a bit on the matter. While she certainly did not wish to deny Nadra the chance at finally raising a child of her own like she'd always wanted, Nala also couldn't deny that it was indeed tempting to raise Kovu with Simba as their own. She knew for certain that Kiara was already getting along with him, so it'd undoubtedly overjoy her to hear that he'd essentially be her new brother. In addition to this, she knew that adopting Kovu would make him royalty, a complete contrast to where he was just hours before. And indeed, Nala did want this poor cub to have the best life that he possibly could.

However, Nala took one look over to Nadra as she was thinking, and saw that the immense exhilaration in her eyes was unexpectedly beginning to fade, as though she was thinking that Simba wasn't going to let her adopt Kovu. The queen's thoughts were confirmed when Nadra's ears started to droop just a moment later, with her eyes being fixated upon the cub in front of her. And seeing the lioness's happy expression suddenly die down the way it did reminded Nala of the last time she had seen her like this.

And then it struck her. Memories of when Nadra was younger during Scar's reign came flooding back to her, and she suddenly managed to recall the last time she had seen her happiness fade like this. She realized exactly why Nadra had been so enthusiastic to adopt Kovu as her own. It was too painful to think about for long. And the second that these dark memories had struck the queen, her sapphire-blue eyes widened intensely, and she instinctively took a step up to Simba to put her muzzle up to his ear. She whispered something to him; Something that no one else around them could hear. It would be some time before anyone, let alone Kovu, would ever know exactly what Nala said to her king on that day. But whatever she said, it made Simba visibly jolt. Nadra and Kovu both watched as Simba stood still for a moment before he gave a single nod to his queen, turned around, and faced the lioness with a new sense of understanding. By now, several of the animals who still surrounded the base of Pride Rock below began to talk amongst themselves about what was going on, and who they thought should raise Kovu. They were silenced when Simba spoke profoundly, breaking the silence and making the lioness perk up suddenly.

"Nadra… Nala and I agree. If it's what you desire, then so be it. You will be Kovu's new mother now."

Immediately, the young cub stood up in surprise. Nadra's excitement and joy suddenly shot back into her soul upon hearing her king say this, and both her head and her ears perked back up. She smiled before she gasped in happiness.

"Really?"

Simba replied, "You deserve a chance to raise a son of your own again, Nadra. And not even I as a king have any right to deny you that chance."

It took every last ounce of the lioness's self control and restraint not to burst out into either wails of happiness or tears of joy. With her eyes widening, she ran up to Simba and put both of her front paws behind his mane, pulling herself in for a tight embrace. Simba was caught off guard at first, but he soon warmed up to it.

"Thank you, king Simba…" She said, nearing tears. "Thank you…"

Simba simple replied, "It's my pleasure, Nadra. You're the only one for him. I just know it."

After releasing her king from her tight grip, Nadra turned around and faced Kovu again, where he took a step up to her.

"So… So you're my new mother?" He asked innocently. Nadra triumphantly nodded.

"Yes… Yes I am, little Kovu."

At first, Nadra would've happily yet gently taken Kovu into her paws so she could nuzzle him and show him as much love as she could right then. However, against what she or anyone else could've expected from a moment like this, Kovu actually took a step back when she tried to reach for him. His happy expression seemed to vanish in an instant, and that familiar look of fear within his eyes abruptly came back to him. Simba raised an eyebrow when he saw the cub visibly avoid Nadra.

"Kovu… what's wrong?" He asked. The former Outsider trembled.

"I… I don't want a new mother." He quivered. "M-mothers are supposed to hit their cubs to train them. I don't want to be hit again!"

"What?"

By now, all of the lionesses, Kiara included, looked upon Kovu with a mixture of confusion and fear. None of them could tell for the life of them just what Kovu meant. Nala came forth and tried to say as calmly as she could, "Kovu, she's not going to-"

But the queen was interrupted when Kovu went on, "Mothers have to make sure their cubs don't go soft on them! Don't let her do that to me! You promised no one would hurt me, Simba!"

Simba said suddenly, "Kovu, who in the world told you-?"

And in mid-sentence, Simba ceased to speak as he realized it. He understood what was going on here. With all of the horrific memories Kovu must've had with Zira and the kinds of harsh rules she must've set for him and his siblings, it occurred to Simba that Kovu had gotten the wrong idea about mothers all together thanks to her. The cub had the impression that all mothers were supposed to be harsh and cruel to their cubs to 'strengthen' them, and that type of life style was what Kovu was used to. And indeed, Kovu quivered at the thought of having a mother now with the way Zira had scared him. Simba's fears were confirmed when he heard Kovu mutter weakly as he sat down,

"I don't want a mother, Simba… they're gonna hurt me…"

At last, Simba got it at the same time that Nala and a few others did. Tensing up, Simba thought to himself, _"Look what you've done to him, Zira…"_

The king debated on whether or not to say anything to Kovu on the matter, but Nadra seemed to decide that for him.

"Kovu…" She started calmly. "I know you're probably scared of having a mother from what Zira did to you. But I _promise_ you… I'm not like her. Nobody here is. If we were, Simba wouldn't have taken you in."

It appeared to them all as though Nadra had realized exactly the same thing that Simba did, and at the same time no less. From the den far behind them, Kiara dearly wanted to come forth and say something, but she decided against it since she trusted her father to help things work out. Both the king and queen grinned as they heard Nadra speak softly to the new Pride Lander, leaning in closer to him to make better eye contact.

"What Zira taught you is wrong, Kovu. Every word of it. Mothers aren't supposed to hurt their cubs. Not ever."

Kovu gulped, finally deciding to speak to Nadra again. "So… what _are_ they supposed to do?"

Nadra smiled. "They're supposed to care for their cubs as best as they can, Kovu. They feed them, they teach them to speak and walk, they clean their wounds… and they do whatever they can to save their cubs from danger so they don't get hurt."

"You mean like how you did for me earlier?" Kovu asked. Nadra replied pleasantly,"Yes, exactly, Kovu. Mothers aren't supposed to cause you pain like Zira did; They're supposed to keep you from it."

"And what if they do something wrong?" Kovu asked now. "Do they get hurt then?"

Nadra shook her head. "Not at all, Kovu. No matter what a cub like you does, a mother will never hurt them. They discipline them, maybe, but they don't put a single paw on them to hurt them for it."

At length, Kovu thought as deeply as he could about Nadra's words, trying to fully comprehend them. This was the very first time he had ever heard of the concept of a mother at all being spoken of this way, and at first, he wasn't entirely sure if he could even trust that this was how it was supposed to be. But eventually, after considering everything else Zira had done to both him and his siblings, he had almost no choice but to believe it. The cub bowed his head as he realized how everything he had ever been taught and led to believe turned out to be blinding him from the truth. It had been ripping him away from having a peaceful life, like an insect being violently ripped away from the skin of a savage animal it's been latched onto for a good long time. Whether Zira had outright lied to him or if she really was that insane, Kovu would never know. After being inured to a life of brutality and painful discipline, the cub was unsure if he could ever fully adapt to this way of thinking. Slowly, he rose his head up and looked at Nadra.

"It… it sounds nice, I guess." He said. "But I still don't know if…"

At that moment, Kovu was interrupted as he unexpectedly felt something soft press against his backside with some pressure. Looking back, he saw that Nala had her muzzle pushing up against his back as gently as could be, carefully moving him forward against the rocky surface he sat upon. He looked into her beautiful blue eyes for a brief second before turning his gaze back ahead of him to face the lioness who so dearly wanted to parent him now. He was pushed up to her paws, which made him tremble to be directly beneath the growing shadow the lioness now. At first, Kovu expected the worst. He wasn't sure if he was being tricked again, or if this new information about mothers doing such nice things for their cubs was really true. Shutting his eyes, he braced himself for impact.

But that impact never came. For almost instantly, he felt the soft touch of Nadra's paws press against the sides of his body, moving to his back to pull him in closer. The lioness kneeled down to him, where her muzzle rubbed against his face, allowing her soft, tan colored fur to warm him. Kovu's eyes opened back up to see the lioness nuzzling him like this. At first he was rather confused, but at length, the sensation of the nuzzle grew on him immensely. Finally giving in to his emotions, the cub reached his paws forth and held onto Nadra's fur, returning the slow nuzzle she was currently giving him. He smiled, purred, and suddenly felt a surge of benevolent and unfeigned happiness rise out of his heart. Hugging Nadra tightly, and with her stroking the cub's back with dear comforting affection, Kovu felt as though he could stay like this forever. He was no longer afraid of this new lioness. He realized from the wave of emotions going through his mind and his heart that, if this is what she made him feel, her words had to have been true. And by that reasoning, the new Pride Lander cub had at last been able to accept it.

Nadra was his new mother now.

The two of them stayed in their warm embrace for several minutes, which gave the pride members around them plenty of time to look upon the sight with pure happiness in their eyes, their faces, and their hearts. The animals below cheered for one last time that evening, essentially all of them feeling incredibly moved by the emotions of someone who had once been a part of their own sworn enemy. Nala felt herself starting to cry at such a beautiful sight nearby, but she didn't dare try to hide it. Simba gently rested his head against his queen, warming her up with his soft, red, and burly mane. Not far behind them, their daughter Kiara had finally decided not to stay by the den of Pride Rock any longer, and she ran up beside them with a look of pure happiness on her face. Stopping and standing beside her beloved parents, she looked up to them and asked softly,

"So Nadra's going to be Kovu's new mom?"

Nala nodded, wiping away her tears with her paw. "Yes, sweetie… she is."

Kiara nodded. "Wow… he's so lucky!" She said, sounding just as moved by this as her mother was. She watched them finish their long, embracing nuzzle against the darkening horizon. Around them, the stars of night were just beginning to show themselves as the sky had been turning from vibrant orange and red to that of deep blue and purple. The many bands of stars shone brilliantly above them, with the last of the light from sunset creating a ravishing streak of pink and orange against the mountains in the distance. Seeing this, Kiara smiled as she looked up to the sky and said to herself,

"Thank you for saving Kovu, Great Kings of the past."

Simba was the only one who heard his daughter's remark, and he simpered at her innocent tone in saying it. Eventually, the king watched as Kovu and Nadra separated from their embrace (which every animal brow them was still watching), and turned to Simba. He nodded.

"It's been a lucky day for all of us today." He said, starting to sound reminiscential. "Someone I used to know once told me… we are one, and that every one of us are impartial to one another. They were right."

That last part was where the king visibly held back tears, as if he were remembering something very near and dear to his heart. Indeed he was, but it would be some time before he would ever admit it. He sniveled.

"But I think it's time we finish this day now." He continued, his tone returning to normal. "It's getting late, and Kovu needs his rest."

Beginning to stand back up, Nadra looked down to her new son and nodded. "He's right, Kovu. Come on. I'll take you in now."

With another vibrant smile on his face, Kovu stood up as well and quietly yawned, for he did indeed sound tired. (As if his bloodshot eyes from before didn't already indicate it.) Seeing this, Nadra watched as the cub stayed closely beside her while she turned around and started for the den, never feeling happier before in her life. And with that, the rest of the pride members also decided that the day was coming to an end as well. Simba dismissed the many animals surrounding Pride Rock for the night, and he too felt as though he needed rest himself. A day as eventful as this one had not happened ever since his return from the jungle, and nearly all of the king's energy had been diminished because of the emotions that had been shared by everyone. He heard Kiara yawn beside him as he walked back to the den inside of Pride Rock, also feeling ecstatic from what the day had brought about. Not only did she help get Kovu out of the Outlands, but now she had a new best friend to play with from then on. She treaded beside her father with excitement.

"I can't wait to play with Kovu tomorrow, daddy!" She said. "Thank you so much for taking him away from those mean Outsiders!"

Simba smiled down to her. "I was happy to do it, Kiara. And tomorrow I'm going to take him out and show him around the whole kingdom; Introduce him to everything the light touches."

Kiara nearly squealed with joy. "Can I come too, daddy?" She asked eagerly. "I want to come with you! I swear I won't go near the Outlands this time! I promise!"

Simba was about to say something to this, but he suddenly stopped, and thought to himself for a moment. He closed his eyes, took a step forth, and quietly chuckled to himself. Kiara seemed confused by what her father could've been thinking right then until he suddenly opened his eyes again, and looked back down to her. He said, "Oh don't worry, Kiara. I know you won't go there again. After all, how can you if you'll be staying here all day tomorrow?"

Almost instantly, the cub's smile faded. "What?" She said confusedly.

"Despite what happened, Kiara, I still can't overlook the fact that you deliberately disobeyed me." Simba replied. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ground you for a day."

Never before had Simba seen his daughter's expression and mood change so abruptly as he did right then, watching as her ears drooped and her eyes and face grew noticeably distressed. It was as though a roaring, passionate fire had just been immediately doused by the waves of a vast ocean covering an entire landscape, all happening within her.

"But… But daddy, that's not fair!" She protested, stepping up directly in front of her father now. "I helped save Kovu too by going there!"

"I know, sweetie", Simba said. "But you still defied me and almost got killed for it. I can't let that go unpunished."

"But daddy!" Kiara started, her voice beginning to get shaky, as though she were shivering! "I- I wanted to play with Kovu! We were supposed to… He just… I-it's not fair!"

By now, Nala, Nadra and Kovu himself had taken notice of Kiara's sudden mood change, and all three of them could figure out what was going down for her. Nala had heard every word of what Simba said to their daughter, and although she agreed with what he was doing, it absolutely pained her to see Kiara so suddenly saddened like this after being so joyful only moment earlier. Kovu gave his new friend a sympathetic look, and took a few steps up to her, watching as she held back tears. Truthfully, Kiara did feel as though she was being treated unfairly at the moment. She and everyone else knew that Kovu could never have been saved had she not gone to the Outlands, and now she was suddenly being punished for saving a friend's life. It felt uncalled for to still get in trouble after what they already went through, and she tried her hardest not to let any tears exude from her tightly eyelids. She had been so excited to finally play with Kovu openly, and now her first day with him had just been ruined. She didn't know whether to blame Simba or herself for it.

"I help to save Kovu, and you ground me for it!" She said, keeping her eyes shut. "It's not…"

Before the cub could ever finish her qualm, Nala decided to step in for her daughter here. Simba watched as she kneeled down beside the disheartened cub, gently licked the side of her face, and smiled at her. Kiara slowly opened her eyes to look at her mother, watching as she pressed her muzzle softly against her fur. The cub listened as she spoke.

"Listen, Kiara" Nala began in a soothing voice. "It was a wonderful thing that you helped free Kovu from Zira today. Without you, he would still be out there getting hurt by Zira. In a way, you're a hero to him now… Simba and I too."

Kiara sniveled. "Yeah, but… If I'm a hero, why am I still in trouble for it?"

Nala replied tenderly, "Oh, sweetie… your father's only trying to protect you and do what's best for you. Even though a wonderful thing came from it this time, you need to learn your lesson not to disobey us again. If you'd have been killed, I… I don't even want to think about it."

Nala placed a paw on her daughter's back as she slowly looked back up to her mother, her sadness beginning to slip away. "If you don't learn now, who knows what kinds of trouble you could get into when you're older? It's only for your safety because we love you, and it takes discipline to keep you out of harm. Sometimes you just have to take the good with the bad in times like this… Do you understand, Kiara?"

The cub whimpered, trying to collect herself. "I guess so." She admitted. "But what about tomorrow? Now Kovu won't be able to play with me on his first day."

Nala was about to say something else, but this time, Simba took over for her and said, "Well… if it means that much to you, Kiara, I could let you go with us for at least tomorrow."

Kiara perked up. "You… you mean it, daddy?"

Simba nodded. "Yes, tomorrow you and Kovu can play. But after that, you must't leave Pride Rock so you can serve your time for a day. Does that sound more fair?"

The princess gave it some thought, considering both her mother's words and her father's offer. Inside, she could feel her sudden wave of sadness begin to recede, and that fiery passion from before began to build back up in her chest. While it still was disheartening to know she'd still have to serve her punishment, she was now relieved to know that she at least wouldn't have to do it on Kovu's first official day as a Pride Lander. Kiara was indeed willing to accept her father's terms, so she looked up to him and managed to crack a smile at him.

"Yeah… Thank you, daddy." She said sincerely.

Simba smiled back at her, and he came down to nuzzle her gently. As he did, Kovu observed all of this happening from just beside them. This was his very first time seeing a true family moment happen before his eyes, and had it not been for him warming up to Nadra, witnessing this would've been like trying to understand a foreign language to him. At last, he understood how things worked on Simba's land; Families did not function with brutality, but with love and care. They weren't beaten for any wrongdoings, but given more fair and fitting punishments for it. Kovu realized just then how his new life here at Pride Rock was about to contrast with his old one.

And he liked it.

* * *

Later that night, after the sun had fully set upon the land and the Great Kings of the Past were all shining brilliantly against the dark blue and purple realm that was the night sky, the den of Pride Rock was almost as quiet as could be. Simba and Nala rested silently against each other, with Kiara curled up upon her mother's side. Their breathing was steady, calm and relaxed, and the same could be said for the rest of the lionesses surrounding them at that moment. Every one of them was mentally exhausted after experiencing such an eventful day as this, and several of them still being unsure of how to respond to any of it. Many of the lionesses were dreaming about what had happened in the last twelve hours, with a few twitches of the paw from time to time.

But out of all of the pride members who were dreaming right then, none of them were as physically noticeable as Kovu's was right then. While he was warmly curled up in Nadra's arms as he slept against her head, the new Pride Lander could be seen shifting constantly in his spot, swatting the air with his paws, and moaning for long periods of time. He kicked against the ground, scuffled around, and could just barely mutter things in his sleep.

"No, mother…" He murmured over and over again. "I don't wanna go back there… don't hit me…!"

If anyone were awake at the time, it would've been obvious that the cub was having a freakish nightmare about the Outlands. In this case he most definitely was, and soon enough, his night terrors had grown intense enough for his eyes to suddenly shoot open. Kovu awoke with a sudden jolt, and when he did, he felt himself panting intensely. He lifted his head up and looked around with his emerald-green eyes, darting his gaze around from side to side repeatedly. Once he saw the sight of the lionesses sleeping calmly around him and heard the sounds of crickets and nighttime insects resonating from outside, he slowly but surely managed to calm himself. His paws felt moist, his forehead felt hot, and his eyes felt decidedly itchy. He took a deep breath as he rubbed them.

"Just a dream…" Kovu whispered to himself.

Then, feeling a sudden sensation of fear out of what he had dreamed of just then, he looked behind him to see Nadra still sleeping peacefully with her head between her paws. Being as careful as could be, Kovu turned his body around and placed his dampish paws against her muzzle, shaking her head gently.

"Nadr- er, m-mother!" He whispered, correcting himself in mid-sentence. It took him several tries, but eventually, he saw his new mother's eyes open at his movements. She yawned before looking over to the cub, seeing that he had a rather distressed look on his face. Trying not to look or sound tired, Nadra asked him, "Kovu? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Mother… I can't get to sleep. I had a bad dream." Kovu complained fearfully

Instantly seeing what was going on here now, Nadra's eyes opened wider, and she carefully rubbed them as she said calmly, "Oh, Kovu… it's all right now. It was only a dream."

She wrapped both of her front paws around him as Kovu said quietly, "But it was about the Outlands, mother. I… I'm scared of it."

Giving him a very sympathetic look now, she asked him, "What was it about, sweetie?"

Kovu thought for a moment before, sadly, he replied, "Well… I dreamed about Zira taking me back to the Outlands, and she yelled at me real bad for coming here. She dragged me away from you, and it really hurt my tail. I saw Nuka and Vitani crying right before she… she killed me…"

Nadra was admittedly taken aback by the description of her new son's night terrors, feeling rather unnerved by it. "And she was laughing about it, mother." Kovu went on. "She said she's gonna get you next and try to hurt Kiara. I… I don't want anyone to get hurt, mom. W-what if she does come back?"

Nadra leaned into the cub and licked the side of his head, rustling his fur slightly. She gave him a serious, yet soft look of affection. "Oh, my poor baby…" She started. "I know you're scared, Kovu. But it's all right. I'm never going to let Zira take you back there again. I swear it."

"I still can't stop thinking about her though." Kovu replied. "I can't get her out of my head… it hurts, mom. A-and what about Nuka and Vitani? What if they're getting hurt right now?"

Nadra sighed. She did her best to crack a grin at Kovu as she replied, "Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine, Kovu. I can feel it. Zira never hurt them as bad as you, right?"

Kovu shook his head. "I guess not…"

"And besides", Nadra went on. "If they hate that place as much as you do, I'll bet they're both happy for you for being here. I know I would if I were them."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Nadra replied, nodding. "And who knows? If you were able to get out, maybe that'll tell them that they have a chance to escape too. You could've inspired them and given them hope for a better life."

Kovu began to smile for a moment before it faded again. "Yeah… I guess so. But I still miss them a lot. I don't want them to be lonely without me."

Nadra cleared her throat. "Well, Kovu… Do you want to hear something a good friend of mine once told me?"

"What?"

"He said that wherever there's life, there will always be hope. If there any life in the Outlands, Kovu?"

The cub nodded, referring to the pride that Zira was in control of.

"Then there's still hope for them. All of them. No matter what, the Great Kings of the Past will help them find a way. After all, they helped you get here, didn't they?"

Kovu thought about his mother's words for quite some time, sitting there in deep thought. At first he didn't know what to make of it, but soon, he found Nadra's words to be quite uplifting for him to hear. The fact that Simba was willing to take in an Outsider cub like himself did indeed spark a new surge of hope within him ever since it happened. If he was saved, who's to say that his siblings or the other lionesses he cared about wouldn't be too? It became apparent to him that there was still hope for the rest of his pride, and maybe one day, he'd even get to see Nuka and Vitani again. He hoped it wouldn't take long for that to happen, but as long as the chance was apparently there, that was good enough for him right then.

"Yeah… you're right." Kovu said at length, his voice sounding a bit happier than before. "Thanks, mom… I love you."

Nadra smiled vibrantly at her son, nuzzling him warmly. "I love you too, Kovu… my son…"

After their lengthy nuzzle, Kovu yawned and rubbed his eyes with his paws again, and noticed that they weren't moist like they were before. "But I'm having trouble sleeping anyway, mom." He muttered. "I just can't stay asleep no matter what."

Nadra chuckled. "Well then, I think I know just the thing for that."

Kovu perked up. "What?"

But before he could say anything else, he felt Nadra's arms wrap around him tightly, pushing him slightly upwards against her fur. A warm, comfortable sensation ran through his back, giving him goose bumps for a second. And just as he was about to question further, he heard it. Nadra took a deep breath, waited a moment, and unexpectedly began to sing to him. It was a very soothing, comforting and tender lullaby to the cub that the lioness sang softly to him. The sound of her voice as she did was awe-inspiring for the cub in just how beautiful she sounded. Her lullaby was exactly what Kovu needed to hear.

_Sleep my little Kovu,_  
_Let your dreams take wing,_  
_Now that you are here with me,_  
_'Tis a newborn spring._

_You were once lost and afraid,_  
_So cold and tired as could be,_  
_But rest peacefully now,_  
_For the Great Kings have heard your plea._

_They saw your qualms,_  
_And felt your sorrow,_  
_And so they bestowed the gift of a new life_  
_For you to live tomorrow._

_It so dearly calms and warms my heart_  
_To see you curled up, resting in my arms against the starry expanse,_  
_For the Great Kings are smiling upon you,_  
_And have promised you a second chance._

_And for me, I've at last found myself_  
_A new, growing son to hold and watch for longer than a glance,_  
_To care for you and teach you all that I know,_  
_For that is my only desired second chance._

_I love you, Kovu my new son,_  
_As I know you love me,_  
_And the gift of the Great Kings has given us both_  
_A second chance to be._

The cub felt himself beginning to drift out of his consciousness and into a realm of rest and dreams, just from the serenity and delicacy of Nadra's voice as she sang such a lullaby to him. Its leitmotif, its grace, and its uplifting words were more than enough for Kovu's eyelids to become heavy, and the last thing he saw was the sight of his mother singing so beautifully to him. His breathing became relaxed, his forehead ceased to feel hot, and his whole body loosened itself up as his head softly fell into Nadra's soft fur, and his body slouching tightly into her arms. At last, Kovu was asleep, and no longer were his dreams violent or horrific; Thanks to the lullaby, his night fantasies turned bright and hopeful, sending him into a calm rest for the first real time in his life. (That he could remember, at least.) Nadra smiled at the cub and looked upon his sleeping form, dozing off with the stars of night shin in behind him from the opening of the den in front of them. She licked the cub one last time before whispering,

"Good night, my son. Sweet dreams."

* * *

**_Author's Note_: Ever since the last chapter was posted, It's come to my attention that this story has gotten far more attention in far less time than I expected it to, largely thanks to an illustration for it done by TC-96 on DeviantArt. And frankly, to say that I'm honored would be an understatement. I am not only thankful for the massive amounts of attention this is suddenly getting, but I'm utterly indebted to every single person who's ever looked at this. I'm ineffably grateful to those who have reviewed and followed my work so far, and I can't even put into words how thankful I am to TC-96 for doing the illustration titled "Welcome Home". She's an artist that I've really looked up to ever since I joined DeviantArt, and she was my sole inspiration for wanting to do TLK fan art there myself. To know that she not only read this story, but also found one of my humble works**** worthy of full-blown, high quality illustration, knowing how many people would see it and put that kind of dedication into it? To know that TC-96 is a fan of my work? It's meant the freaking world to me, and I can never properly express in words how thankful I am for how much attention she's brought to this, and to see how many people enjoy it as such. It's given me loads of motivation and desire to push through with this to the end, more so than anything I've written before. My immense gratitude goes out to her for illustrating a scene, and to every single person who's favorited, followed, and reviewed this work so far. You guys are really the most supportive and helpful people I've ever met, and it's thanks to you that I now have more desire than ever to work on this. Seriously, I owe you all one.**

**Nadra's lullaby in this chapter was indeed written by me. The first two lines are lifted from Zira's song, of course, but used in a different context to contrast the two. I've written poetry before (Thank God for 8th grade English class), so I had a head start on how to write a short song like this one. I hope you guys like it, and imagine it to be as beautiful as I believe it would be in vocal form.**

**And on another note, I'd like to announce that the next chapter will finally be checking back in with the Outsiders, and showing their reaction to what's happened to Kovu. I know a lot of you have been waiting for that for a while now, and I'm glad to say that the wait will be over with the next chapter. So stay tuned to see how that goes down!**


	5. Chapter IV

**Chapter IV**

At that same moment in time, to say that the situation in the Outlands was 'tense' would've been a gross understatement.

Nuka paced around in circles repeatedly, his mind feeling anxious and unnerved as his paws went against the uncomfortable matrix of cold, parched and grimy ground below him. He tried to think to himself about various things concerning the absence of Kovu right then, but the noise around him made it increasingly difficult. In the hours since the cub's last sighting in the Outlands, every last one of the remaining pride members had tightly crowded around the entrance to the putrescent termite mound, where Zira currently was. Ever since she came back near dusk, she had not spoken a single word to anyone or even so much as looked any pride member in the eye, no matter how hard they tried to get her attention. From the moment she returned, the lionesses of the pride could start to hear Zira lividly muttering to herself about something, which was incredibly unnerving for them all. A few even raised suspicion as to whether or not Zira was hiding something, which truly wasn't far off from the case. And now here they all were, standing around the entrance in the dead of night just trying to get any scraps of information that they could.

Nuka's breathing was beginning to pick up as he continued to pace around within the cluster of lionesses in the crowd around him. They were all apprehensively talking amongst themselves, worrying and speculating on what was going on and why Zira had refused to talk for this long. This was strange even for her. By now, all of them had taken notice that Kovu was nowhere to be found, which only fueled the flames of speculation and rumor that were beginning to spread like a relentless wildfire during a summer drought in a forest. Some wondered if Kovu was dead, which led to the unfortunate assumptions that either Simba had killed him or Nuka had let him die. No one knew what to think at all amongst the confusion, chatter and rumors. For a pride of only thirteen members (Excluding Kovu), they were certainly causing quite a stir that night.

Nuka said to himself, "Come on, Kovu… where are you? What's mother doing?"

Finally, the teenaged lion's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Vitani say weakly, "Nuka? W-where's Kovu? Why won't mother say anything? She's starting to creep me out now!"

Nuka stopped walking around in circles and looked down to the cub, who was standing just beneath him in the dirt. Vitani sounded like she was near tears, and she had an absolutely miserable look on her face with bloodshot eyes and drooping ears. The wounds on her body from the morning before were beginning to heal by now, which was at least one relief for the lion to see. Nuka sighed.

"I don't know, Vitani… This is weird even for her." He said.

"Is Kovu okay? Where is he?"

"I don't know!" Nuka repeated nervously. "I should've never let Kovu go off on his own, I just _knew_ something was gonna go wrong!"

"What if something bad happened to him, Nuka?" She cried. "What if he got eaten or fell down a cliff? He could be-"

Nuka interrupted her, kneeling down slightly. "Listen, Vitani… Now is _not_ the time for thinking things like that. Okay? We've gotta hold out and wait to see what mother says. For all we know, he could be lost out there and we've gotta go find him. I don't want to imagine him hurt or dead any more than you do."

And with that, Nuka continued to aimlessly pace around the crowd, not even caring what the others were saying about him anymore. His teeth bared as he worried more and more about the whereabouts of his adopted brother right then. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he believed it was likely that something horrible happened to Kovu indeed, and that Zira was unwilling to talk to anyone because of it. He also had to admit that if he were in Zira's place right then, maybe he would've felt the same way with not wanting to talk about it.

Then suddenly, Vitani ran back up to the lion, her expression slowly changing from fear to that of genuine confusion. Nuka stopped in his tracks when she spoke up.

"You know, Nuka… I don't get it."

"What?"

"What's with you lately?" She asked, sounding perplexed and trying to move on to a new subject. "You've been acting really weird, you're not calling Kovu mean names as much, and you don't talk about not being the chosen one anymore. You're… different. Nicer. Why?"

Raising an eyebrow, Nuka opened his mouth to say something to the cub to address her unusual concerns. But just before he could, he heard a voice cry out from within the crowd,

"Nuka! Nuka, are you here?"

Instantly, his eyes widened. He looked over to his right where he heard the voice, and immediately recognized who it was.

"Mila!" He cried out.

Running off through the small but tight crowd now, Nuka left Vitani where she was and darted across the lifeless grounds, trying not to accidentally knock anyone over while running to the source of the voice. And eventually, he found it at the very edge of the cluster of pride members: He saw a lioness of the pride about his height and age darting towards him, her face looking anxious. She had amber and red-orange eyes, a dull yellowish-grey pelt with a much lighter colored snout and underside, a black nose, and a tail-tip of greenish-ebony. Both she and Nuka ran towards each other until they came together tightly, with Nuka pressing his chin against the back of her neck. The two of them nuzzled just outside the crowd, finally giving them some much-needed breathing space. As they did, Vitani ran over to them and watched as they almost seemed to cuddle for a moment.

And instantly, it all made sense to her now.

"Nuka, I was so worried!" Mila said, looking up to him silently for a moment. She only briefly glanced ahead of him to look at the rest of the pride. "Weird how just thirteen of us could look like a million, huh?"

He nodded as he reluctantly released himself from her now. "Mila, where've you been?" He asked. "I haven't seen you all day."

She sighed. "Well, Zira put me in charge of the hunting platoon today, and you know how savage the girls can be about that. Probably because we're all starving to death out here, _anything_ goes with hunting now."

"But weren't they called back here over an hour ago?" Nuka questioned. She sighed.

"Yeah. But besides, Nuka, you know how your mother feels about us… She looks like she's ready to kill me every time I say something to you, it…. makes me nervous to risk getting yelled at by her. Zira says she thinks I'm just a distraction, and that I'm 'corrupting' you or something just by being near you!"

Nuka grinned slightly. "Ah, you know how mother is. She'll get over it soon… probably when she thinks of a new way to maul Simba in his sleep."

The lioness chuckled at that last quiet murmur of his. "Good enough for me, I guess." She then cleared her throat and asked at length, "Do you know what's going on here, Nuka? What's with all the confusion? W-where's Kovu? Why isn't Zira saying anything?"

Nuka looked over to the dark entrance of the termite mound as he replied sadly, "Pft, I'm just as clueless as you are, no one's telling me anything. This morning I let Kovu take a walk on his own because he wanted to be by himself. But no one's seen him since then… I'm worried for him, Mila. It's all my fault."

The lioness replied sincerely, "I'm worried too. But it's not your fault. Who knows what Zira could be hiding this time, after all?"

"Tell me about it." Nuka replied.

"I'm sure Kovu's fine. You know him, he's not one to back down easily. We've just gotta find him is all."

"I hope you're right…" He finished uneasily.

"But even so, with your mother being like this, sometimes I'm feeling like the only one around who hates how she runs things here, Nuka." Mila went on. "I don't like how she's keeping so many secrets anymore… why would she just leave all of us in the dark about this? I mean, she threatened to _banish_ me when I tried to say something or ask where Kovu was earlier! I just feel so… outspoken right now, you know? She does this all the time... Like I'm just a disposable pride member who no one listens to."

Nuka leaned in and put his left paw against her right one, never taking his eyes off of hers. He gave her a comforting look. "Trust me, I know how you feel. Just be lucky she's not _your_ mom too, let alone as the favorite cub."

"Yeah, you said it…"

"And besides, Mila, getting banished probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world anyway."

The lioness perked up confusedly. "Why's that?"

Nuka replied at length, "Because if mother ever exiles you, I'm going with you too. No matter what she says. We might not be mates yet, Mila, but I'd rather take orders from that swine... Simba himself... than let you go off alone. It's not like mother would even care if I tagged along anyway."

Mila smiled vibrantly at this statement, realizing what Nuka was implying. She put her head against his chest. "Nuka! You really think you'd do that?"

Nuka said to this, "I don't think I'd do it… I _promise_ I would."

And with that, the teenaged lion and lioness nuzzled for another moment there beneath the stars. Mila felt Nuka place his paw against her back, making her purr lovingly into his chest. From close by, Vitani watched as the two of them embraced so passionately, and she rolled her eyes at the sight of it.

"Pft… never thought he'd get a girlfriend after all." She remarked to herself as she walked away to give them some space.

The two of them would have liked to stay like that for a while longer, but unfortunately, their tender moment was immediately cut short when another voice unexpectedly ripped through the nighttime air. Both of them could almost feel their fur stand straight up for a brief moment.

"Kovu has abandoned and betrayed us!"

It was Zira.

Nuka and Mila turned around and looked off to the direction in which she called from. Zira had finally emerged from the termite mound after hours of lingering inside of it, and instantly, all of the mindless chatter from the other lionesses had been silenced. She leapt up to the top of a particularly tall rock that stood beside the entrance, where she now stood above everyone in the pride so her voice could be heard by all. She looked down upon them angrily. Nuka just barely managed to see Vitani run back up to him out of the corner of his eye, looking utterly shocked at Zira's sudden outburst. The queen of the Outlands continued,

"Today, I saw him sneaking off into the Pride Lands, trying to make friends with that wretched princess of Simba's!"

She emphasized Simba's name through barred teeth as though it were poison. "I attempted to get him back, but the brat went and started crying to Simba telling him that he wanted to join his pride!"

Several gasps and instances of brief chatter started up from the Outsider pride again, not a one of them expecting to hear anything like this , let alone from their leader so abruptly. Nuka's eyes widened in horror. He whispered to himself,

"No… Kovu, you didn't!"

"And against my will, the tyrant took him! Simba stole Kovu right out of my paws is what he did! And Kovu has turned his back on each and every one of you, for he asked him to do it! All I wanted to do was get my cub back and help him grow big and strong, and look what happens! Simba has corrupted Kovu already!"

Nuka simply stood there, completely dumbfounded and petrified, feeling a twinge of pain in the pit of his stomach from what he had just heard. He shook his head.

"No… No, he can't be!" He said, his voice sounding increasingly distressed. "Kovu wouldn't do that! I know him, he wouldn't-!"

"Silence!" Zira shouted, cutting her son off. She went on, "As we speak, Kovu is being brainwashed and deceived by that miserable excuse for a pride, and he _wanted_ to be taken there! He has betrayed _every single one of us_!"

Zira took a moment to catch her breath when one of the lionesses spoke up within the small crowd.

"But why would he do that?" She asked. Immediately, the pride recognized the voice as Dotty's, one of the older lionesses of their pride, and all eyes turned to her. "He had to have a reason, right? Didn't he?"

Zira shook her head. "Don't be a fool, Dotty! The brat just didn't want to put up with his own mother. And for what? Because he thought it was too hard and too tough here! He doesn't understand that he needs to be strong in order to survive! That's what I've been trying to teach him, and look what he does! All of that time, trying to show him how to be a leader and grow to be the best he can be! _Wasted_!"

Zira's voice became exceptionally angry and hoarse sounding at that last part, leaving her fuming at the thought when she finished. Soon enough, another lioness spoke out.

"Couldn't we go in and get him back, Zira?"

It was Ikhala, one of the younger lionesses amongst the Outsiders. She spoke with genuine hope in her voice as she said, "We could do it tonight! We'll sneak into the place and save Kovu from-"

Zira cut her off. "It won't do any good, Ikhala. Simba would spot us for sure! He may be a tyrant, but he's no idiot."

"What if we lured Kovu back here?" Suggested Kamwe, known to be one of the 'crazier' lionesses amongst them. "We'll go find a dead animal and use it as bait to get the little termite back over here!"

"Not good enough!" Zira denied. "It's difficult enough that we can barely find food for ourselves, I won't waste a precious kill for a plan that might not even work! And who's to say that Kovu would come close enough to the borders for him to even smell it, let alone see the bait? He'd never buy it!"

"So then what's _your_ idea, ya' downbeat?" Called Majira, one of the huntresses from the hunting platoon that had been sent out all day. "Why don't you stop killing everything we've got and tell us what you're gonna do about this! He's _your_ kid, after all, not ours!"

Under normal circumstances, Zira would've most likely throttled Majira for such a disrespectful outburst, but given her stance and feelings right then, she simply stood there silently, taking a moment to look away from the others. Unexpectedly, Zira had absolutely nothing to say this time. Nothing at all. Although the lioness refused to admit it, Zira had been entirely caught off guard by this question. She was still enraged over Simba taking Kovu from her, but the thought of actively getting him back was something she had dreaded. The reason she dreaded it was because, for the first time in her life, she had to admit defeat to herself. (at least for now.)

Zira didn't have a plan.

Her paws twitched as her claws gripped onto the dusty rock she was still standing upon. An uneasy feeling flowed all throughout her body, and she felt her face growing hot from embarrassment. Awkwardly, she muttered,

"I… I don't know, Majira."

Zira heard a few gasps come from the pride in front of her before one of them called out, "So that's it? You have nothing at all? Not even an idea?!"

Zira hesitated before she reluctantly said, sounding absolutely defeated, "N-no. I don't have a plan. I don't know what to do…"

"That's pathetic!" Majira cried. "The one shot we had at avenging Scar and getting even with Simba, and you just let it go like that?!"

"That's what happens when ya' put Nuka in charge of him." Muttered Gereza, another one of the pride's top huntresses. "I'm shocked that Vitani didn't go missing too with him around them too."

With that, Zira watched as the mindless chatter from before began to start back up again, this time concerning Zira herself. Ever since this pride had come into being, they had always assumed that their leader would always have a plan when it came to situations like this. In some ways, Zira had promised that to them back when they first joined. But from the talk going on right then, it sounded as though everyone agreed that her promise had just been broken. And Zira wasn't about to let them take advantage of this moment of vulnerability for her.

"That's enough!" She screamed abruptly, immediately bringing silence upon them all once more. Not waiting to catch her breath this time, Zira cried, "I may not have a plan yet, but I will kill _anyone_ who thinks this makes me weak! I just need time… It takes time to conceive the perfect plan, after all. Soon enough, I'll find us a way to get Kovu back. It is inevitable. You just need patience!"

A few of the lionesses were about to say something here when Zira finished her war-hungry speech for them, her voice sounding wholly out of breath. Whether it was from speaking so loudly or from the realization that she was in a state of vulnerability for the first time, she didn't know. "But no matter what we do, the core intentions will remain the same! We _will_ get Kovu back sooner or later, even if we have to take him by force! And when we do, Simba will die slowly and painfully in his claws! I swear it! _For Kovu_!"

Upon finally finishing her briefing to the Outsiders and taking a deep gasp of air, Zira tensed up and roared as loudly as her lungs would allow, the sound resonating all across the Outlands. Her attempts to rally support from the pride and regain their confidence in her seemed to work, for nearly all of the pride members roared in return, all of them sounding like they were out for blood right at that moment. The resonance was mighty and deafening, and at that moment in time, the Outsiders looked ready to do anything in order to get Kovu back.

All except for three.

Nuka, Mila and Vitani all stood completely silent outside of the crowd, watching with shock and transfixion as the lionesses all roared so fiercely at Zira's speech. Nuka felt his eye twitch slightly before he finally managed to mutter,

"I don't believe this…" He said, his voice sounding almost aimless. "I… I _can't_ believe this… how could he?"

"Kovu…" Vitani said to herself, sounding ready to cry. "He's… gone? Why would he do that?"

Then suddenly, before anyone could even fully grasp the situation for what it was, Nuka slammed his paw down against the ground hard, loudly snapping a dead branch when he did. "Kovu, you little _miscreant_!" Nuka shouted, his voice sounding absolutely furious. Mila took a step back from the teenaged lion when he did this, feeling frightened by the sudden outburst.

"Nuka…"

"How could he do this to us, Mila?!" Nuka began to rant. "I go and put my tail on the line for him this morning, and _this_ is how he thanks me? Thanks _us_?!"

That last part he said while looking down to Vitani, who was now visibly crying at the situation unfolding all around her. "Why, Nuka? Why would he leave us?!" she said through her tears.

"He's a traitor, that's why!" Nuka screamed. "He deserted us! How could he?! The little rat!"

Mila was heavily taken aback by Nuka's shouting now, listening as his voice sounded more and more hoarse with each word he uttered. Rarely did he ever get angry whenever she was around, let alone to this extent. But in a sense, Mila understood where Nuka was coming from. From what she had seen, Nuka really did love Kovu as a brother despite the fact that he and Vitani were originally adopted from different parents. But now, seeing as though the cub had so suddenly and unpredictably left without so much as saying goodbye, Mila decided to stay quiet on the matter. Because this had happened so fast, she was at a loss for words anyway, and had no real idea as to how to comfort Nuka this time.

Vitani was sobbing, putting her paw over her eyes and muttering to herself "Why, Kovu, why? Why did you have to go?!"

She repeated this to herself over and over again, and Nuka watched uncomfortably while she gently wept.

"All that time I spent with him… all for nothing!" He went on, his tone gradually becoming lighter and sadder. Seeing that he was at least attempting to calm down now, Mila went over to him and said, "Nuka, please… we have to stay calm about this. Maybe Kovu did have his reasons for going into the Pride Lands. You never know."

"Yeah?" Nuka replied. "Try saying that when he's _your_ brother stabbing you in the back like that!"

Nuka visibly held back tears now, trying as hard as he could to accept the fact that he might never see Kovu ever again thanks to his fateful decision. The lion felt an indescribable mix of rage and depression deep in the pit of his chest, although his feelings of anger at Kovu's 'betrayal' seemed to win out inside of him. At the very least, he wished that he had gotten to say goodbye to the cub before he parted, or given him one last piece of advice so he could make it on his own. But since he couldn't, the most that the teenaged lion could muster was a simple,

"Poor kid…"

Mila gave him a very concerned look as she came up closer to him, where she gently rested her head upon his shoulder. Nuka sniveled.

"He'll make it." She said comfortingly. "Whatever happens, at least Zira can't hurt him now."

"Maybe…" Nuka replied. "But he didn't have to betray us and take the enemy's side to make that happen, Mila…"

The lioness was about to say something to this, but before she could, Nuka barred his teeth and quietly walked away from her, his breathing becoming heavy. Mila sadly watched as he went over to join the crowd of lionesses nearby, his posture seeming tense and yet sorrowful at the same time. It was as though he couldn't decide if he was feeling heartbroken or enraged over Kovu's departure, and as a result, the lion simply kept his thoughts to himself in order to prevent saying anything he would regret later on, especially to Mila. Aside from the thought of his younger brother suddenly leaving with so little warning, Nuka also began to fear for himself now too. He remembered that Zira said she would 'reunite him with Scar' if anything happened to him that morning, given that Kovu was his responsibility at the time. So far, Zira hadn't said a word to him about that, but he still refused to let his guard down around her. Nuka began to wonder if she had even forgotten about ever saying that, which seemed like more and more of a possibility with the more time that went by. And then he tried to mentally rationalize it; He was the only one that Scar and Zira had ever truly given birth to, so he doubted that she would ever actually kill her own child like that. But then he remembered: This was Zira he was talking about here.

Mila watched as Nuka crept inside of the termite mound along with the others, knowing for sure that there was a lot on his mind right then. She truthfully didn't know what to say, and didn't want to risk upsetting him even more. But abruptly, her own thoughts were interrupted when she heard Vitani starting to talk to herself, still sobbing uncontrollably over her loss.

"Why, Kovu…? I loved you. I never hurt you, I never yelled at you. Why did you have to go?"

Feeling inexpressibly sorry for the poor female cub right then, Mila took a step forth and kneeled down to Vitani, resting her paw upon her upper back. "It's okay, Vitani." She said to her at length. "Don't cry… Kovu would want you to be strong here."

The cub did her best to hold back any further sobs as she replied, "He was my best friend. He was my brother… My real brother. I loved him even more than you like Nuka, Mila."

The lioness sighed. "I know you did, Vitani. I liked him too. He was a good cub, and you're lucky to have him as a brother. But you want to know what I think?"

The cub looked back up to Mila now, her eyes bloodshot from her streams of tears. "What?"

"I think Kovu's in a better place now, Vitani." Mila replied to her. "Maybe now Zira won't have to hurt him or yell at him all day anymore."

Vitani replied after a moment, "Yeah, I guess so. But… what if I never get to see him again?"

Mila sighed. "I don't think it'll be like that. You'll see Kovu again sooner or later, I just know it. If he really loves you, he'll make sure of that."

The cub nodded. "I guess that sounds like him…"

"And you want to hear a secret?" Mila asked. She didn't wait for a response as she said, "I'm glad that Simba took Kovu in. I don't think Simba's really as bad as Zira says she is, honestly. He's gotta be taking better care of him than Zira ever would. You should feel happy for him, especially since I'm sure you'll see him again soon… But you've gotta promise not to tell anyone I said that. Not even Nuka. Alright?"

Vitani nodded again. "I know Simba isn't as bad as mother says." The cub replied. When she did, Mila raised an eyebrow. She had never heard Vitani, let alone anyone else in her pride, actually suggest that Simba wasn't the dictator that Zira led them to believe that he was. "Really?" She asked her out of pure curiosity. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't want to talk about it…" Vitani replied sadly.

Mila nodded, understanding what she meant despite not knowing any details. (As of yet.) Mila said, "If you say so. But can you promise not to tell anyone what I said?"

The cub nodded again. "Yeah, I promise. And thanks, Mila. You… you're very nice." She said as she finally managed to stop herself from gently weeping any further. Mila smiled at her. "Thanks, Vitani."

"But still…" The cub went on. "You say he's in a better place now, but he's not here with us anymore. You know what that sounds a lot like, Mila?"

"What?"

"That sounds a lot like the idea of death to me."


	6. Chapter V

**Chapter V**

Many hours later, Simba's deep, peaceful slumbers of the night were suddenly roused and interrupted when he felt a light, frail tugging sensation against his left ear, pulling his head ever so slightly. It took him a moment to respond to it, but soon enough, the king's eyes slowly opened and squinted only to first see the sky ahead of him as he laid there in the den of Pride Rock. He could tell by the scent of the air that this was barely the first hour of daybreak, for the sun had not yet even risen. A faint, gleaming streak of pink light and subtle illumination was only first beginning to glow against the rims of the distant mountains from the sun, the air was cool and still, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky to be seen yet. For Simba, he was no longer used to seeing the morning so early like this. (Not since he was a cub, at least, when he was energetic enough to wake up so early.)

But the lion's thoughts about the dim morning in front of him came to a halt when he felt the tugging sensation on his ear begin to strengthen, for it was beginning to jerk his head to the left ever so softly. Raising an eyebrow, Simba looked over to that side of him. Unexpectedly enough, he saw Kovu lightly tugging at him with his teeth and his paws pushing against his mane. Simba asked curiously, "Kovu? What're you doing up so early?"

Almost immediately, the cub let go of his ear and replied, "I'm ready to start the day's training, Simba."

As soon as Simba could comprehend this in his tired state, he grew a look of utter confusion on his face. He then yawned before asking, "Training? What training? What are you talking about?"

Kovu shook his head. "Well I thought that… since I live with you now, the training I have to do won't be as bad. I… I didn't wake up too late for it, did I?"

Simba seemed to be getting more and more mystified with every passing second now. "Kovu, I don't know what in the world you mean." He said softly. "There's no training here for you."

Kovu raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"And why are you up so early?" Simba asked further. "I thought you said you wanted to get a good sleep for the night."

Kovu nodded. "Yeah, but… I'm used to waking up like this. Mother said that I-…"

The cub stopped right there, and it seemed like both he and Simba realized at exactly the same moment what was going on here. Simba's expression lightened, and Kovu sat down beside him.

"Wait… I think I understand here." Said the king. "Zira made you think that training for something every morning was a normal way of life, didn't she?"

Kovu nodded again. "I thought hers was just worse than it's supposed to be." Said he. "Don't all cubs have to do it, just not as bad as hers?"

The king, realizing just what Kovu was thinking now, gave him a highly sympathetic look and moved his head down to his level now, looking him straight in the eye. Simba's eyes came off as neither intimidating nor menacing to Kovu; They seemed kind and sincere, just as they had the day before. (Albeit more wary from just waking up.)

"Listen, Kovu", He started. "Zira's got it all wrong there too. Cubs your age don't need to train for anything, let alone with what she was teaching you. Doing that is not a way of life for anyone your age."

"Really?" The cub asked at length.

"Yes. You're too young to worry about having to kill things or how to be a fighter. Even when you're older, you don't have to go through any of that if you don't want to. Not as long as you're in my kingdom."

Kovu looked away from Simba now, glancing in the direction of the faintly rising sun off behind the mountains. He seemed to be contemplating various things now, namely about how he'd apparently been lied to by Zira in more ways than he even could've conceived now.

"Wow…" Kovu said, still sounding skeptical of it. "So… I don't even have to do any of that stuff here at all? Cubs aren't supposed to learn to kill?"

Simba shook his head. "Not at all, Kovu." He said calmly. "Cubs your age are supposed to be out playing, having fun, having no worries… training cubs to do such hard work isn't normal, Kovu. It's terrible that Zira made you think it was."

Kovu turned back to the king now, his emerald-green eyes wide open in wonder now. All his life, he thought that cubs were meant to be prepared as early as possible to survive on their own, since life was apparently going to be difficult. Kovu had to admit that the idea made sense to him, and he was very much used to it. As of right then, he felt like his entire life was officially going to change in more ways than he thought or intended now. Not only did Zira force him through such hardships, wake him up so early in the morning, and lead him to believe that murder was normal, but now he knew that training, even less intensive than hers, was not meant to be endured by anyone his age. It was as though he had been in a long, restless sleep all of his life in the Outlands, and only now in the Pride Lands was he able to wake up from it. He took a deep breath.

"And not to mention", Simba went on. "Cubs like you usually don't have to wake up this early either. It's only your first day here, Kovu. You deserve to be able to sleep for as long as you want."

Kovu's eyes widened slightly. "As… as long as I want?"

Simba nodded. "Judging by how you look right now, I think it'd do you a lot of good. You need it after what Zira put you through."

Kovu thought for a moment, still seeming unsure of what to think of this. He wasn't at all used to things suddenly being so lenient on him this way, and nor was he expecting his life in the Pride Lands to be so easy-going, at least from what he could tell. But he would most certainly be lying if he said he didn't like the idea. He grinned slightly.

"Well… I did want Zira to let me sleep for a few more minutes before." Said he. Simba smiled.

"Well, here's your chance. You don't need to be afraid anymore, Kovu. You can sleep for as long as you'd like after what you went through before. The time is yours."

The lion leaned closer into the cub now, never daring to break eye contact. "And you don't need to be afraid of having to train for anything. As long as you're here, you have total freedom. Understand?"

Kovu nodded.

"Then lay back down, Kovu. You need your rest." Said Simba in a kindly manner.

Deciding not to let this type of moment pass him by (again), Kovu simply smiled and turned around, heading back to his warm spot within Nadra's arms again. As he did, he looked back and said tiredly,

"Thank you, Simba."

The king watched as Kovu crawled back up over Nadra's paws, curling himself up in between them as gently as he could, as to not wake her up. Kovu's head pressed against the side of his new mother's muzzle and purred, his eyelids feeling heavy again. He felt an immensely good feeling of comfort and warmth run through his chest, and sensed every muscle in his body beginning to truly relax for the first time since he could remember. Simba watched as the cub flicked his tail around slightly before, in time, it came to a stop. Kovu had finally eased himself enough to fall back into an indescribably peaceful sleep once more, being able to do so for the first time this late in the morning. Simba smiled warmly at the sight for some time before, from the outside, he saw that the bright sun was beginning to rise above the mountain tips, signifying the beginning of the new day. The sun was illuminating the land in front of them with light of gold, casting shadows from the trees below as the many grasses around Pride Rock glimmered gold. Simba smiled once more at this for a moment, before eventually looking back to Kovu as he silently got his much needed rest within his new mother's arms.

"You're free from the Outlands, Kovu…" Simba said softly. "Just remember that now."

* * *

After the sun had risen beyond its peak and entered the day into the early afternoon, Simba was calmly sitting just outside of the den of Pride Rock as he watched Kiara anxiously pace around the entrance. With each step that the princess took, she seemed to be becoming more and more agitated.

"Come on…" She said to herself. "When's Kovu going to get up? He's going to miss his whole first day already!"

Simba laughed to himself at his daughter's edgy tone. "Don't worry, Kiara, he'll be up soon enough. You know how he needs his sleep after all he's been through, too."

Kiara sighed. "Yeah, I guess." She admitted, facing her father now. "But you only said we could do this today, and then I'd have to be grounded tomorrow. What if he gets up too late and we miss it, daddy?"

Simba replied happily, "Oh, I don't think you're going to miss anything, Kiara."

"But Kovu's still asleep!" She went on. "What if he-"

"You call this being asleep, princess?"

Instantly, upon hearing the voice, Kiara turned around and faced the entrance to Pride Rock's den, only to see the one thing she had been hoping for with all her heart for hours now. Kovu was stepping out of the rocky den and into the afternoon sunlight, his eyes taking a moment to adjust to it once he got out of the shade. He had a playful, if not somewhat mischievous look on his face, and instantly, Kiara's face lit up with joy.

"Kovu!" She shouted happily, running over to him. The two cubs met up and nuzzled in a friendly way until Kiara excitedly asked her friend, "Finally! You ready to go now?"

The cub looked past Kiara to Simba, who stood up and seemed just as ready as his daughter was to keep his promise and take him for a walk around the Pride Lands that day. He just wasn't as jumpy about it as Kiara was right then, as he noted.

"Any time you are." He said at length.

Smiling and resisting the urge to leap into the air out of pure joy, Kiara ran over towards her father, anxiously waiting for him to start things off for the day. The feeling of new life in the Pride Lands living amongst her surged through her blood stream.

"Yeah! Well come on, slow pokes! Let's go, it'll be fun!"

Kovu grinned. He had to admit to himself, it was going to take some more time to adjust to Kiara's energetic and happy personality like this than he thought, but he figured that as long as no one was hurting him, he could get used to this behavior from the princess in no time. She was like a perfect example of what kind of life he wanted to live, and what kind of life he was apparently going to get. Simba cleared his throat now.

"Let's head out. Daylight's not going to wait for us, after all."

Kovu smirked. "Neither is she." He said under his breath as he watched her head towards the declining stone slop that led down to the ground, with Simba following closely behind.

"Be careful, Kiara!" He called to her. "Slow down, you'll hurt yourself!"

Kovu took a moment to stretch himself out, yawn, and lightly smack his lips before he finally went forth with them. The cub ran up ahead and chose to walk beside Kiara, watching her anticipated self run down the slope and into the grass below. Simba smiled as he watched the two cubs move around within it, acting as though they were really feeling the morning dew for the very first time in their lives again. (Of course, that was true for only one of them.) Simba smiled.

"Follow me, Kovu." Said he. "I know where to go."

Eventually, Simba turned and faced his right, where he began to tread off in that direction. Kovu and Kiara followed now, neither one of them knowing exactly where the king was heading now.

"So how did you sleep, Kovu?" Simba asked the new Pride Lander. He answered, "It was good. I don't feel as tired now as I usually do."

"Well that's nice to hear." Simba replied. "You'll be in better health if you keep that up from here on out."

"I hope so." Kovu said, clearing his throat. "Hey Simba?" He continued. "If it's okay for me to ask, where's Nala and Nad- Er, I mean my mother? They weren't at Pride Rock when I woke up."

Simba briefly glanced back to him. "They're both with the rest of the lionesses. Around here, it's the lionesses' job to hunt and find food, both for us and for themselves."

"You mean like how my old pride hunted a lot?"

"In some ways, yes." Simba replied. "But around here, they're never forced against their will to do it, and no one ever has to get hurt just from someone like Zira."

Kovu nodded. "Do… do they ever catch anything good?"

Simba was about to say something, but before he could, Kiara decided to answer him instead. "You bet they do, Kovu. My mom's always the best huntress out of them all, you'll be eating really good stuff when they get back!"

Simba chuckled to himself. "She's right, Kovu. You won't have to ration just one animal between a whole pride anymore, and you're never going to go hungry. If you're lucky, you could have a whole zebra to yourself."

Kovu's eyes widened. "A whole zebra?…"

Simba nodded again. "But you won't be able to eat that much until you're older, though."

"Wow…" The cub said out of amazement. "I feel like I really _could_ eat all that with how hungry I've always been."

"I had a whole zebra once!" Kiara added, sounding like she was bragging. "My mom caught it for me, and it took me three whole days to finish it!"

Simba chortled. "Come on, Kiara, you know that's not what happened. You mean you _tried_ to eat a whole zebra, but then you got _sick_ for three days before you could even finish the first leg of it."

Immediately, Kovu tried as hard as he possibly could to suppress his laughter at that. He really did. But the cub just found it impossible to hold back his loud snickers upon hearing this, bursting out into them loudly. Kiara blushed and stopped walking.

"Dad! You promised you'd never tell anyone about that!" She protested, sounding embarrassed. Simba laughed light-heartedly again. "It's okay, Kiara, you know I didn't mean it."

Kiara sighed in annoyance, looking away from her father as she went forth and waited for Kovu's laughter to die down. Once it did, he cleared his throat. "At least I'm not the only one who's gotta wait to eat that much." He said humorously. The princess couldn't help but grin when he said this. She was about to say something else here, but before she could, she looked up and noticed that Simba had suddenly stopped walking as well. The king looked back behind him to the two cubs, and he said "We're here, Kovu."

"Already?"

It wasn't until now that either of them noticed Simba had taken them to the top of a large, grassy hill rising upwards, with a single savannah tree standing alone on the top of it to their left. The grass was gently swaying in the wind, which felt very nice against Kovu's fur. He then asked, "Well what's here?"

Simba replied, "Look up ahead of you."

Seeming confused at first, the cub began to walk forwards through the grass as Kiara followed closely behind. Curiously, he went forth to the very summit of the hill. And once he did, there he stood in awe at what lay ahead of him. Beforehand, he hadn't been paying as much attention to the lands around him as he thought he would, since he'd already gotten a good look at the place yesterday. But now in front of him lay the exact serene, fertile, and lush African savannah of the Pride Lands that he had hoped for just twenty-four hours ago in broad daylight. Ahead of him, he saw more animals grazing in the grass, birds flying in their formations from above, and the sunlight from behind him casting its warm, golden light upon the place. Kovu smiled.

"Wow. So… is this place is like this every day, Simba?" He asked. The king took a few steps up to him and Kiara now, sitting down on the ground beside them a moment later. "Yes, it is, Kovu. Every day. But this time, there's something to see that I think you'll like."

"It looks just like it did yesterday, though."

"Look beyond that river there, Kovu." Simba said calmly, pointing his paw over to the east. Kovu shifted his gaze towards that direction, where he saw a wide, rushing river glimmering in the afternoon sunlight like diamonds. After his vision adjusted the light reflecting off of it, he squinted to see what was beyond it, and once he did, his eyes widened. Past the river, he saw the lionesses of Simba's pride moving northward, one of them looking like they were dragging an animal against the ground with them. The cub smiled again.

"Are… are those the lioness hunters you talked about?"

Simba nodded. "Yes, and your mother's with them, Kovu."

"They look like they're doing a great job!"

Simba chuckled. "Yes, they are. What else do you see, Kovu?"

Raising an eyebrow, the cub squinted again to see if there was anything he was somehow missing, but once he did, the sight ahead of him didn't seem to change much. He just barely managed to make out the forms of Nadra and Nala amongst the others, but other than that, they just seemed to be moving northward a a steady pace. Nothing special yet. Kovu became puzzled.

"It… just looks like the lionesses walking, Simba." He said confusedly. "I don't get it."

Simba leaned down slightly as he answered, "Look closely at what they're doing. Look at how no one's hurting them, yelling at them, or forcing them to move faster than they have to. See anything different than what you're used to?"

Kovu's expression lightened suddenly. "Oh… yeah. I see it. I get it now!"

"This morning, you were worried that you'd still have to train for that kind of thing." Simba continued. "I want to show you here that you don't need to be afraid of that anymore. The lionesses are the ones who hunt, your mother included."

Kovu stared onwards, wide-eyed. "They look like they've been working hard at it."

"They always do." Kiara added, stepping up and coming over to Kovu's right now. "That's what my daddy's always taught us. No matter how hard something is, we don't ever turn our backs on each other for it."

Kovu was going to just simply nod at this comment, but before he could, something suddenly came to him in his mind again. Perking up slightly, he looked over to Kiara as he asked, "Hey Kiara? I almost forgot, but… you remember when you first ran into me yesterday, right?"

"Yeah."

"What did you mean when you said you can't turn your back on an Outsider?" He continued. "What does that mean?"

Kiara thought for a moment before she shook her head. "I don't know, actually. My daddy's the one who told me it. Outsiders have never been welcome around here for some reason."

Promptly, Kovu turned around and faced Simba directly again. "Simba? What does 'never turn your back on an Outsider' mean? I know why Zira can't come, but why aren't the others welcome in this place?"

The king sighed, feeling uncertain as to how to approach the cub's question. Kovu was still so young and full of life, and just like Kiara, he knew very little about the true situation between the Pride Landers and the Outsiders.

"Well, it's a difficult thing to explain, Kovu." He started uneasily. "The best I can say for now is that the Outsiders have a… darker side to them than us. We can't trust them."

"Why not?" Kovu asked abruptly, his voice sounding slightly piqued. "They're not all bad, Simba. I don't like Zira, but the others are fine! Especially Nuka and Vitani! We'd be better if we didn't have to live in such a bad place… Having to eat termites off logs all day… No food or water anywhere..."

Kovu mumbled that last part to himself with a tone of disgust, uneasily thinking about his old home once more. Simba felt his face begin to grow hot now, feeling contrite from seeing that he'd just unintentionally offended Kovu somewhat. Sensing strong surges of guilt flow throughout his nerves, Simba suddenly remembered just what Zira herself had said to him the day before.

_Kovu was the last born, before _**_you_**_ exiled us to the Outlands! Where we have little food… less water..._

He cleared his throat, trying to approach him more sensitively now. "W-what I meant to say was that only _some_ of them have a darker side, really. Some of them can be good, I'm sure. You've certainly proven that much to me."

"But then why do all of them have to be banished, then?" Kovu went on. "Why not just keep out the bad ones who break the rules?"

Simba looked away from Kovu for a bit, unsure of how to handle the young cub's concerns in a way that he'd be able to truly grasp. Taking a long moment of silence to think about what to say this time, he simply bowed his head slightly and answered,

"I'm afraid that's a story for another time, Kovu. You'll understand someday, when you're older."

"But I can try to understand now, Simba." He persisted. "If you just banished the bad ones, couldn't Nuka and Vitani come back? Mila too? That doesn't sound fair to me."

"That doesn't sound fair to me either, daddy." Kiara added. "Why do all of them have to stay there? The good ones like Kovu could come back, couldn't they?"

"I can't explain it yet." Simba replied firmly. "It isn't your time to know. I'm still having trouble taking it all in myself with what you told me yesterday. But I promise you'll both understand soon enough."

He looked up into the direction of the glowing sun. "For now, I just want you to make the best of the rest of your day."

Kovu's ears drooped slightly. "Okay then…" He said disappointedly, feeling like Simba was doing his best to avoid addressing his concerns now. Sensing this, the lion gave him a sympathetic look and tried his best not to end this talk on a sour note.

"But just know this", Simba finished, leaning down to him. "When I banished Zira, she didn't have a pride of her own yet. It was only her, you, and your siblings. The other Outsiders didn't come around until after she left with you."

"I know." Kovu said. "But I just wish they could come here so Zira won't hurt them anymore."

Simba sighed again. "Once again, that's a story for a later time. But I promise you that if I could bring the others here, I absolutely would."

Kovu blinked. "Really?"

"Absolutely." Simba answered, forming a smile on his face to try his best to cheer Kovu up a bit. He moved his right paw up to the cub's chin to bring his face up a small bit more. "One day, I promise that this'll all be fixed. We can work it out, and you'll know everything about it. But for now, I just want you and Kiara to enjoy yourselves out here. You're still young, so have as much fun as you'd like. That's why I brought you out here, after all. We have plenty of time to help the other Outsiders. I swear it."

Finally, after about half a minute of thought, Kovu managed to smile back at the king, his ears rising up again. "Well... okay then. Thanks, Simba."

The lion nodded. "My pleasure. Now go ahead, you two."

With that, Kiara grinned and went up to Kovu again, motioning him to follow her into the grasses ahead down the hill. He followed casually, and Simba listened in on their new conversation from above.

"So there's something else I forgot to ask you, Kiara."

"What is it?"

"What does 'fun' mean?"

Simba was able to retain his smile just long enough for the cubs to get out of hearing distance from him, and he watched them try to start up what looked like a game of tag. (At least from what Simba could tell.) As soon as that began, the king's smile virtually collapsed. He now looked upon Kovu and Kiara with a look of trepidation, sadness and guilt, letting his inner thoughts aimlessly meander like a restless wind flowing out upon a vast field of grass in his mind. Beforehand, Simba had no idea that he'd put Kovu through so much when he exiled Zira and his siblings from his land, and the shame of knowing that he was partially responsible for his suffering ate away at him terribly. While he knew for sure that some of the other Outsiders had to have been loyal to Scar, Simba hadn't realized that when he banished Zira, he inadvertently caused innocent mothers and cubs to also pay the price for something they never did.

After the exile, Zira had rounded up at least eight other lionesses to join her cause of overthrowing him and avenging the death of a 'great king', as she once put it, forming the Outsider pride that they knew today. Simba was aware that Zira had to have been lying to the lionesses in order for them to follow her. Until recently, he assumed all of their souls were indeed corrupted and blackened by such deception. But when Kiara had disobeyed him and gone to the Outlands, she didn't just end up saving the only cub there that was able to stand up to it. She had also helped to prove that there was still hope within the Outsiders; That Zira hadn't mentally devoured their spirits completely, at least not yet. Kovu was the first one he saw there who still had any shred of innocence and hope left, and that made Simba dread even more how much he'd accidentally put him and his pride through.

What made the lion feel worse was that the two cubs still had absolutely no idea as to exactly _why_ the two prides hated each other, and it would only be a matter of time before they'd start to question it and figure out that he was hiding something from them. Simba knew that, as king, he was supposed to be wise enough to lead and explain as much as possible to his subjects. Yet here he was, hiding so many secrets from Kovu and Kiara just for the sake of their innocence. He hated having to keep such private affairs away from them like this. Kovu's whole pride was paying for the actions of just one lioness, and he feared that Kiara could end up paying for it as well if Zira ever decided to strike back someday. But the one thing that scared Simba the most right then was what could happen once the two cubs grow up and find out why the Pride Landers and Outlanders are at such vicious odds with one another. Their reactions, especially Kovu's, were something that he almost never wanted to think about. While Zira had essentially brought her own exile upon herself, Simba began to believe that Kovu and Kiara would someday blame him for what had happened, possibly losing their trust in the process. And that was something he absolutely couldn't bear the thought of handling.

While Simba's mind clouded ever further with thoughts of uncertainty, he didn't realize that he stopped looking upon Kovu and Kiara playing with one another in the distance, his gaze slowly shifting down to the left. It wasn't until Simba suddenly heard a piercing, harrowing shriek come from Kiara that he snapped back into reality.


	7. Chapter VI

**Chapter VI**

Feeling the blood rush away from his head as he heard his daughter's scream die down, Simba quickly stood up and ran through the grass, his paws ripping through the moist, yellowish-green blades like a relentless, vicious beast of night tearing through the thick of a jungle. He saw Kiara only just ahead of him, with Kovu standing back from her, his face clearly having a look of utter horror upon it. Once Simba had gotten within hearing distance of them again, he shouted concernedly, "Kiara, what's wrong? What happened?"

Within seconds, the king got his answer. Stopping in front of the princess, he peered down upon her to see that she was tightly covering the upper side of her muzzle with her paws, her eyes shut tight as could be. She reluctantly removed them for Simba to see, revealing light streaks of blood gently streaming down her face, slowly getting larger and more vibrant as they trickled down from four scratch marks on her. Kiara's whole body was trembling, trying to hold back any further screams of pain. Simba opened his mouth in shock to say something, but then his line of sight veered over to Kovu, who seemed just as horrified as Kiara was right then. Simba saw that he had his front right paw extended slightly, with faint traces of blood upon his tiny claws, and his eyes wide open. In that instant, Simba realized what had happened.

"I… I didn't mean to…" Kovu said, his voice shivering. "I-it was an accident, Simba! We were playing and I…"

Looking down to his daughter again, Simba asked, "Are you all right, Kiara?"

The cub shook her head, putting her paw back upon her slowly bleeding scratch marks. "It hurts, daddy…"

Simba quickly replied, "Come on, I'll take you to see Rafiki. He'll take care of it."

Not wanting to waste even a moment, the king picked Kiara up by her scruff with his teeth as gently as he could. He said to her through his gritted teeth, "You're going to be okay, Kiara. I've got you."

Before setting off, however, Simba looked over to his right and caught one last glimpse at Kovu, who was still visibly shaking in fear. The cub looked into his eyes as he just barely managed to muster the strength to say, "It was an accident… I'm sorry."

Without saying a word, Simba gave him one final look before turning around and springing off in the direction of his old friend's tree, doing his best to be careful with Kiara. Almost instantly, Kovu froze. He had a look of sheer terror in his eyes, his blood felt as though it ran cold now, and his mind was a complete blank. Kovu didn't even feel the wind against his fur anymore as he gazed down upon his own paws, watching the blood ease its way down into his fur. He stayed like that for what seemed like hours to him. Had it not been for the sound of footsteps and faint chatter coming from behind him, he likely would've stayed there for hours more. Kovu quickly spun around, only to see something that made his pupils shrink.

_The hunters!_ He screamed in his thoughts. It took Kovu a moment to realize that he wasn't imagining them. They were real. He mewled in terror.

_They're already coming for me_, he thought. _They know I hurt Kiara!_

Instinct took over now. With fear coursing through his veins, Kovu anxiously looked around him and soon spotted a group of thick bushes nearby, resembling that of underbrush. Avoiding eye contact with any of the lionesses, he went towards the bushes and dove into them, hoping they'd be able to keep him out of sight once he did. Kovu proceeded to crawl through the thin branches inside them and brush past the thick leaves of it, making what progress he could in the opposite direction. Shaking, he was only barely close enough to start to make out what the lionesses behind him were saying.

"I still can't believe he did anything like it," said a voice that Kovu instantly recognized as his new mother. From the sound of things, she seemed upset about something. "It doesn't feel real."

"Don't worry, Nadra," said another voice that he recognized to be Nala's. "That monster won't be causing you or any of us any trouble again."

Kovu trembled when he heard the lioness's chatting fade into obscurity as he went through the bushes still. He whimpered in terror, since he was certain that the huntresses were talking about him. It didn't take him long for him to emerge on the other side of the bushes now, the huntress's forms completely obscured by the branches and leaves within them. Feeling like he was far away enough to avoid being seen now, Kovu lowered himself into the grass, prepared himself to crawl forth and run wherever he could. But before he did so, he muttered under his breath,

"I'm sorry, Kiara…"

Away from him, none of the lionesses caught any sight of the small cub while they treaded forth towards Pride Rock, ready to feast upon their day's kills with their king. As they did, their conversation went on.

"But I still don't understand why he ever did such a thing." Nadra voiced.

"I don't know, Nadra." Nala answered, "Scar was just insane to do what he did, but he's gone now. That's all that matters."

They then heard the sound of annoyed breathing and turned to see another lioness carrying a large gazelle carcass on her back. "Not to interrupt here, but tell me again", she started to complain. "Why do I have to carry this thing?"

"You know the rules, Almasi." Nala began. "The last one awake has to carry the kill."

"Let me guess: It's 'tradition', right?"

"Blame Zazu."

Almasi sighed. "But I've never seen you carry the kill before."

"That's because I'm always the first one up," Nala replied, with just a hint of smugness in her voice.

"Why is that, Nala?" Nadra asked now. "You used to sleep in all the time when we were cubs."

Nala shrugged a bit at her friend's comment. "Simba and I just like to watch the sunrise these days."

"If I remember correctly" Almasi stepped in again, "He was the one who always got up early as a cub. What made you join him?"

"Well, Simba and I have gotten a lot closer since he came back," Nala responded with a smile.

"Here she goes again…" She heard another lioness say behind her in annoyance. Nala chuckled softly.

"I still remember how, when we were best friends as cubs, we were so disgusted at the thought of being betrothed."

"Simba wasn't your only best friend back then, you know," Nadra stated.

Nala laughed. "Of course not. There was you too."

Nadra nodded, "I know, but I was thinking Siri too."

Almost immediately, Nala felt her stomach drop at the mention of that name. Anyone around her could detect the sudden grim look in her eyes right then. It was almost jarring.

"Who's Siri?" Almasi asked. Nala hesitated.

"Besides Simba, she was Nala's best friend." Nadra explained for her. "They were like sisters. Siri wasn't always around too much; She liked to keep to herself a lot. But Nala was the one she could always open up to."

"She really was." Nala added. "She was the one who taught me my pinning trick."

"So what happened to her?" Almasi asked again. "I don't remember any lionesses like that when I joined the pride."

Nala took a deep breath. She knew she was going to have to talk about it eventually, given that Almasi was one of the newer pride members to come in. "I don't know. She and her mate Kenta ran away while Scar was king. We haven't heard from them ever since."

"Kenta?" Nadra asked. "Wasn't he friends with you and Simba too?"

"Yes." Nala said, "He and Simba were very close, so you can only imagine how Kenta felt when Scar told us Simba was gone. He was just as upset as I was."

"Wow…" Almasi muttered. "Well… when was the last time you saw them?"

"A little while before Simba came back." Nala answered. "Before they left, we found out that he and Siri were expecting cubs. That's why they had to leave, so Scar wouldn't kill them."

"Who? Them, or their cubs?"

"Pick one."

"I hope they're doing all right, Nala." Nadra commented.

"I do too…" The queen added.

* * *

Kovu ran headlong for his life, his thoughts tumbling around in his mind as though they were caught in the most incredible earthquake conceivable. He hadn't even been in the Pride Lands for a day yet, and already he had caused Kiara to bleed and gotten the entire pride on his tail for it. (As he thought.) To say that he was scared would do no justice at all for how much he feared what could go down by the end of that day. It took all his remaining strength not to break down in tears at what he'd done. Kovu looked around him for some place to hide, barely noticing that the sun to his right was beginning to set. Against the orange and pink sky of dusk, Kovu soon saw ahead of him what looked like another rock formation of some sort. Upon running closer to it, he could start to see that there were two odd-looking walls of rock piles on either side of a stony pathway, almost as if it were a small ravine jutting out of the ground. Kovu had seen numerous rock formations like this before in the Outlands, but he never once expected that something like them would be here in Simba's domain.

But the young cub didn't question it. He was far too anxious for questions. Kovu remembered how rows of stone piles like could make for good hiding places; that much he remembered from Zira during his old training to catch prey off-guard. Feeling like he had nothing to lose in doing so, Kovu ran in between the strange-looking rock wall piles, practically shaking his head trying to look in every direction for a crack or a nook of some sort within them. Sure enough, as soon as he turned a corner, Kovu spotted what appeared to be a small den no more than two feet deep into the rocks. That was all he needed. Kovu instantly turned into it, slid into the space between the tall stones, and dug himself deep into the back of the den as tightly as he could fit himself, as to hide himself in the shadow. He took only a moment to catch his breath before the urge to let his tears go free from his eyes began to take hold.

Kovu put his paws up to his eyes, once again going into deep thought about what had just happened. He must've stayed like that for what felt like hours to him, hardly ever looking back up to look on the outside. An hour really did pass as he laid there on his own, fear trickling through his veins and only occasionally glancing outside to see the shroud of twilight set upon the place. Had it not been for what happened next, Kovu likely would've stayed there for the rest of the evening in hiding.

"Kovu?" He heard a familiar voice call out from just outside. Instantly he jumped in fear. "Kovu, are you here?"

The cub whimpered in fear. "Go away!" He said, sounding daunted. He then heard the sound of footsteps approaching again, and he lowered himself down in terror, crouching into the corner of the small den. Within moments, he saw the source of the voice approach him.

"Kovu?" Nadra said concernedly. "What are you doing in there?"

"How did you find me?" Kovu asked. Nadra replied, "I followed your scent. Why are you all the way out here?"

"Please, leave me alone." He whimpered softly, just barely loud enough for Nadra to hear.

"Come out of there, please." She said solicitously. "Come on, there's rhinos that live just around the corner from here. They're going to chase us if they see us here."

"They won't see me." Kovu said. Nadra sighed. She had promised to prove herself as a mother the day before, and now was her first chance to keep that promise and everything that came with it; to put herself up to her first test to be the mother she'd always wanted to be, ever since the fateful incident with Scar that she and the others talked about before. She silently prayed that she wouldn't say anything wrong or do anything to make things worse.

"Kovu… there's no reason to be upset." She said, her tone staying gentle. Kovu picked his head up and looked at his mother directly for the first time that day. Instantly, she could see the apprehensiveness in his eyes and hear the shakiness in his voice. "Why not?" He asked. "I'm just a monster who won't be bothering you anymore, right?"

"What the-?" Nadra started, confusion clear in her voice and her expression. "Kovu, sweetie, where did that come from?"

"I heard what you and the hunters were saying about me before." Kovu answered with a verbal twinge in his voice. "You were coming after me and saying those things about me! _That monster won't be causing you or any of us any trouble again_, remember?"

Nadra thought for a moment, trying desperately to figure out what her son was talking about. But it only took her a short time to realize it. Her eyes widened. _That talk we had with Nala…_ she thought. _Kovu heard that?_

"Oh… oh, no no no, Kovu, you misunderstood." She consoled. "None of us were talking about you, not at all."

"Prove it."

"We were talking about Scar, sweetie."

Kovu slightly raised his eyebrow. "What?"

"The girls and I were just having a chat when someone brought up Scar and how terrible he was. He did a lot of bad things; that's what we meant. I should know. I had to go through it firsthand…"

Kovu could start to hear the sadness in her voice growing for some reason, confusing him. He had a feeling the Pride Landers never looked back on Scar with any fondness, but something about Nadra's tone sounded different. Different as though she were remembering something, like a suppressed memory of some sort. He didn't want to accidentally bother her by asking what it was.

"So… Scar was the monster you guys were talking about?"

Nadra perked up and nodded, regaining her composure as their conversation carried on. "Absolutely, Kovu. We would never say those kinds of things about a sweet cub like you. You know I love you."

"Oh…" Kovu muttered, still thinking about what he'd heard earlier. The cub had to admit, he felt like a fool right then for taking such words out of context and assuming they were for him. If there was one thing that he could remember from Zira's ways before, it was to never assume anything about anything. Trying to think of how to approach the situation as well as she could, the lioness went on. "But I did hear what happened earlier. Simba talked to me about it just a little bit ago."

Kovu's ears drooped. "And now he wants to beat me, right?" He assumed sadly. Nadra nearly gasped at his conjecture. "What? Kovu, no, never. Why would he ever hurt you like that? He wouldn't take you in just to do the same thing Zira did. Isn't that what we promised you yesterday?"

Kovu reluctantly replied. "Well yeah, but… this is different. I hurt the princess on my first day! That's worse than just doing something normally bad. Simba looked so upset when he left."

Nadra came in closer to her cub now, lowering her head so she was sure he could hear her as clear as possible. "Listen, Kovu. I talked with Simba about it. He's not mad at you."

Kovu's ears rose up slightly. "He… he isn't?"

Nadra shook her head. "Of course not. Simba was only worried for Kiara's safety, that's all. But he does want to talk with you. Talk nicely, that is."

"Oh…" Kovu muttered. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

Nadra gave him a bit of a crooked smile. "Well… we'll cross that river once we get to it. But for now, you need to come out of there. It's going to be okay, I promise."

Kovu thought to himself for a moment, still looking worried about any number of things that Nadra could only guess was on his mind right then. "What about Nala?"

"She isn't mad either." Nadra answered. "She and Simba only want to talk."

"Is Kiara okay?" The cub asked further.

"Yes." The lioness answered. "She wasn't hurt nearly as bad as Simba thought at first, the scratch wasn't deep. Rafiki's tending to her right now, it's nothing serious."

The cub sighed deeply in relief. "You see?" He heard Nadra finish. "Nothing's wrong. Simba just wants to talk, that's all."

Although his emotions and his desires of what he wanted to do were mixed, Kovu had a feeling that his mother was right. At the very least, he was willing to trust her word this time and give things a chance; especially after finding out he was mistaken about the 'monster' statement. It took quite a while and quite a bit of self-coaxing on Kovu's end, but eventually, the former Outsider managed to stand up on all fours once more, which put an earnest smile in Nadra's face. Kovu stretched himself slightly, and never took his eyes off the lioness before him as he walked forth and entered the space outside the tiny den once more. It took his eyes a moment to readjust to the light of day that was approaching the hour of twilight. He stayed close to Nadra as the two of them finally began to tread forth through the pathway ahead of them, out of the rocky place and towards the direction of Rafiki's tree.

"Thank you, Kovu." She said to him. "Everything's going to be okay, I promise. Even if anything does happen, I'll protect you. I always will. You know I love you."

Kovu nodded. "I love you too."

Although he did have something of a renewed sense of hope and calmness, he couldn't help but feel anxious still. Simba might not be mad, but what if Kiara was? She was the one who had gotten cut by his own claws, after all. She was the Pride Lander he'd had the pleasure of knowing for the longest amount of time so far, and the absolute last thing he wanted was for her to be afraid or cross with him. Especially so soon after an Outsider like him had been taken in. At this point, the main reason Kovu was going with Nadra was to see if Kiara was upset or not. The thought was bothering him a lot more than he knew it should have been.

"Mother?" He finally asked the lioness. She looked down to him. "Are you _sure_ no one's going to beat me?"

Nadra chortled. "Kovu, the only time anyone's ever going to beat you is if you get into a snail-slurping contest with Simba."

* * *

It was strange. Kovu had never seen such an enormous tree in his entire life, let alone one that almost seemed so lonely in the middle of the grassy plains before him. Its leaves were light green and incredibly thick, its trunk was more broad and massive than an elephant's limbs, and its height almost seemed to rival that of Pride Rock itself. (To a cub like him, at least.) Kovu knew he wasn't going to see all of the Pride Lands on day one, but how he managed to miss such an enormous looking tree like this, he would never know. At the very base of the tree's trunk, he saw Simba and Nala both looking up past the branches of the tree, as if they were waiting for something. Kovu could already figure out what it was. Their forms grew ever larger and ever closer as he walked nearer to them, with Nadra still beside him to his left. Kovu had a puzzled look on his face.

"Mom?" The cub asked out of genuine curiosity. "Who's Rafiki?"

The lioness smiled. "Oh, you'll see, Kovu. He's our shaman. Something tells me you're going to like him."

The cub took a nervous gulp as he finally came within earshot of Simba and Nala. The king was the first one to see him approaching, but the queen was the first to say anything about it.

"Kovu, there you are!" She said. Kovu detected no trace of anger or displeasure in her voice, so he nervously got ever closer to her and Simba. "We were looking all over for you just before." She said concernedly. "Where were you?"

Kovu visibly hesitated, so Nadra spoke for him. "I found him in a small rock den out near the rhino herd's territory. He was trying to hide, I think."

Kovu nodded in confirmation. Nala took a step closer to the cub, looked down and said "Well it's a good thing Nadra found you when she did, Kovu. Those rhinos would've chased you out of there for sure."

She got no reply. Soon enough, Simba came forth and cleared his throat, wanting to break the awkward silence as he and Kovu hesitantly looked at each other. Kovu took a second to observe Simba's face; He didn't see any signs of hatred or wrath within it like he expected, and his eyes appeared rather calm. But he could still tell that the king looked firm and serious, just not in a terribly threatening way. It was more in a kingly or fatherly way.

"What happened, Kovu?" He finally asked at length. Gaining enough of his trust to speak with more confidence now, Kovu replied,

"Well… Kiara and I went off to play like you wanted and she said she wanted to play tag. I did too, so we started to do that, but I tried too hard to tag her first. I just wanted her to be 'it' really badly, and I guess I tagged her too hard, and… I'm sorry I hurt your daughter, Simba."

Simba sighed. "I understand, Kovu." He said as calmly as he could. "You didn't mean to hurt her. I've given this some thought, and I think I know why you went to hard on Kiara. Is it because you're used to playing more rough than she is?"

Kovu bowed his head and said nothing. Simba went on. "Well, I understand you aren't used to things here yet. It's okay. But there certainly are some lessons to be learned from this."

"Like what?"

Simba looked back up and faced the lioness beside him. "Nadra, you take it from here."

The lioness tensed up slightly. "Kovu… I want you to know that you're a good cub, I love you, and I know it's going to take time for you to adjust to the Pride Lands. It's certainly different than the Outlands, right?"

"Yeah." Kovu said. Nadra responded, "It must be. But after this, we're going to try to teach you some things. We'll teach you how to play nicer and be more gentle with others. Okay?"

At length, the cub replied, "Okay."

"And that's absolutely not a bad thing, Kovu." Nala added now, sounding encouraging. "You'll be able to make lots of more friends once you're able to calm yourself. Don't feel bad."

"Although", Nadra continued, "We know it was an accident, but you do still need to learn from this."

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Kovu muttered. Nadra sighed. "Well… we have to teach you somehow, don't we? We can't overlook discipline completely."

Kovu replied, "Okay… what'll it be?" He asked. Nadra gave the king and queen a brief glance before she answered, "Well, Simba and Nala said it was my choice what to do with you. So I decided. Since Kiara's supposed to be grounded tomorrow anyway, I guess you will be too."

Nadra expected Kovu to become even more melancholy upon hearing what his punishment would be. But to her amazement, his ears actually perked up, his eyes widened, and for the first time that day, she saw the one thing she'd been hoping for more than anything else on him: A smile grew on his face.

"R-really?" He said. "That's all? Nothing worse than that?"

"Wh-… no, why?" Nadra asked confusedly. Kovu stood on all fours now. "That's not as bad as what Zira used to do at all. I could handle just being grounded for a day."

Simba smiled at the cub's newfound enthusiasm. Never before in his life had he seen someone of his age become so uplifted at the news of being grounded before. "I wouldn't get too cocky there, Kovu." Simba reminded with a chuckle. "You don't want her to make it last longer, do you?"

"Oh, uh… sorry." Kovu replied, subduing himself. Simba was about to say something else right then, but before he could, he and Nala heard a noise coming from above them in the branches within the large tree. They looked up and saw a sight that they'd been waiting for what felt like hours now: At long last, they saw Rafiki climbing downwards to the ground, tightly holding the healing princess within his left arm and being as gentle as he could in his descent. Nala smiled.

"Kiara!" She called out happily. As Rafiki got closer to the ground with her, they could start to hear his familiar laugh that they'd grown so accustomed to from him.

"Don't worry now" they heard him say to Kiara. "Everyting's going to be fine."

Kovu looked utterly confused as he watched the blue-furred baboon shaman reach the grass below him and gently lower Kiara to the ground. Kovu saw that she had a small bundle of tree leaves tied around her muzzle over her scratches, probably with herbs of some sort beneath them. Kovu could guess that this baboon was some sort of healer of the Pride Lands, which made him feel safe since he could only dream of having something like that in his previous home. But he wanted to be sure.

"Mom?"

Nadra looked down to him.

"Is that Rafiki?"

Before the lioness could answer, Rafiki smiled and looked over to Kovu, laughing like he often did. "Is dis Rafiki?" He asked eccentrically as he went over and leaned down to get a closer look at him. "No, of course dis is not Rafiki! This is just a rock dat grew legs you are seeing!" He added with playful sarcasm.

To say that Kovu was mystified would have been a euphemism in every sense of the word. He certainly wasn't afraid, but he was incomprehensibly bewildered.

"Uh… hi?" He said awkwardly. Rafiki's tone soon became friendlier. "So dis is de new cub Kovu I've heard so much about! Ah, de great kings were right. You look just as splendid as dey said you would!"

Kovu muttered, "I'll take that as a hello?…"

"Kovu, this is Rafiki, our shaman I told you about." Nadra mentioned. "He's the wisest one in all the Pride Lands."

_Are you sure you don't mean 'craziest?'_ he thought to himself.

Rafiki kneeled down and said to the cub, "I have heard much about what you have been through, Kovu. De great kings were very kind in choosing you."

Kovu raised an eyebrow? "Choosing me?"

Simba replied humorously, "It's only an expression he uses."

"Okay…?"

Rafiki smiled and went on, "Your life has been saved, make no mistake. De lioness you used to call mother cannot hurt you any longer."

"Thank you, Rafiki." Kovu thanked innocently. The baboon calmed himself for a moment. "And do not fear about what has happened today, Kovu. You will learn from de past just as your king did, I promise you that. In fact, I have a secret for you, young cub."

Rafiki then leaned in towards Kovu's ear, whispering, "Whenever you feel uncertain like you did today, just remember: Where dere is life, there is hope."

Kovu's eyes widened. "That's the same thing mom told me earlier!" He said in amazement. "How do you know that too?"

Both Rafiki and Nadra tittered upon hearing this. The lioness explained, "Well, I _did_ say I heard it from an old friend, didn't I?"

Kovu then took a second look upon Rafiki, finally figuring out what Nadra meant by the old term now. "Wow…"

"This lioness has made a wise choice in mothering you, Kovu. She has been through more dan you know to decide it. De great kings are with you."

That last part he said while looking upon Nadra, and she merely bowed her head in respect. "Thank you."

Then, Rafiki looked behind him and said "Speaking of lionesses… There might be one other who has been wanting to see you for some time, Kovu."

"Oh, yes", Nadra remembered now. "I'm guessing there's something you'd want to say to her?"

Kovu felt his newfound spirits drop sharply once they said this. He knew exactly who they were referring to, and as soon as Rafiki stood back up and moved out of Kovu's way, there was no avoiding it any longer. Kiara faced him again for the first time since the incident, and from the look of her, Kovu couldn't tell for the life of him what she was thinking. He grew edgy as he finally stepped closer to his new friend, watching her lightly rub her muzzle with her paw. She could tell Kovu was extremely nervous. There was a long moment of silence that came to pass between them.

"Well, go on!" Rafiki encouraged affably. "De great kings did not bring you here to remain speechless your whole life, you know."

Eventually, after he swallowed hard, Kovu said to the princess, "Kiara… I'm really sorry about what happened before. I didn't mean to hit you that hard, i-it's just what I'm used to."

Kiara nodded and simply said, "It's okay, Kovu. I'm not mad."

Those were the only three words that the former Outsider needed to hear for nearly all of his anxiousness from that day to drop from his mind, like a pile of loose rocks sliding from the side of a canyon after just one of them slips from place. But even though the relief was overwhelming, so too was his feelings of uncertainty as he continued to briefly study the look on Kiara's face. She seemed unnerved by something still, evidenced by her sagging ears and unusually tense posture.

"See? All is well!" Rafiki proclaimed.

"I suppose that about settles that." Simba spoke at length. "Kovu, you're forgiven. What's say we head back to Pride Rock for something to eat now?"

"I'd like that." The cub declared. With that, the tread back to Pride Rock could begin once more, which began with Simba turning around and starting in that direction, with Kiara staying close to his right. Nala cleared her throat.

"I'd say this's been an… interesting first day, Kovu." She said.

"Yeah…" Kovu responded. As the group of five finally left Rafiki's old tree, Kovu took one last look behind him to see the old baboon climbing back up into the branches above, laughing to himself over kings-only-knew-what. Kovu spoke. "He sounded nice. But he acts kind of crazy."

Nadra smiled. "Well, I wouldn't be too bothered by that, Kovu. He's a good person. You'll get used to the more, well, _odd_ side of him soon."

"Kings know I had to…" He heard Nala mutter to herself. Kovu chuckled when she did. But on the way back home, Kovu was in deep thought, reflecting on his first day as a Pride Lander. He tried to focus on the positives. He'd gotten to sleep in for the first time he could remember, his trust in his new mother was solidified, he was able to see more of the kingdom, and he was able to meet the kingdom's shaman with a good, if not weird first impression. But no matter how hard he tried, the cub couldn't keep his thoughts from drifting towards Kiara. More specifically, how she was acting right then as they walked through the grass. She would take frequent glances behind her to look at Kovu for a moment, as though she were expecting something from him right then. Something painful perhaps. She remained silent on the whole journey home. Whenever Kovu tried to come up closer to the princess, she would noticeably try to avoid him or evade eye contact, and later even shifted sides so she'd be on Simba's left side to steer clear of him. Kiara seemed so anxious about being near Kovu, and it didn't take Rafiki's wisdom to figure out why. Kovu frowned.

_I knew it,_ he thought. _She's scared of me now._

Kovu felt about ready to let his new sense of hope drop once more, since he had apparently upset his first true friend in this new home. But after he mused about what went down on this day and what Rafiki said to him, he straightened his posture slightly.

_Where there's life, there's hope_, he thought. _Hope for Kiara, maybe?_

If there was one thing Kovu certainly had right then, it was the hope that he could mend the apparent tension between him and the princess before it could escalate to something worse. He had a terrible feeling that it would do just that if he didn't try to do something about it first. _I've gotta make it up to her_, he thought. _Rafiki says I've gotta have hope… I hope tomorrow's gonna be a better first day than this was._


	8. Chapter VII

**Chapter VII**

Even as the sun began to set and the stars of night made themselves known amongst the darkening skies, the Outlands were still as feverish as ever.

Zira fumed in near outrage as she strode on the edge of her land's borders, watching the lionesses around her. Half of them were standing guard and facing the direction of the Pride Lands, with Pride Rock only barely visible against the last bit of red sky in the distance. The other half were frantic, coming back from the nearby Elephant Graveyard with sticks of fire in their mouths. They would continuously place them into piles along the borders, forming beacons of fire in an attempt to light the place up. Each time they placed their stick into the flames, they would almost immediately turn around and go back to fetch more kindling, to ensure that the fires wouldn't go out before dawn. Zira watched as a few lionesses struggled to keep the fires within their designated piles to prevent them from spreading farther than necessary. She growled.

"Move faster!" She shouted to several pride members as they went off. "You are not to let these fires go out until the morning comes, at all costs!"

Mila sighed. She carefully used her paw to push around a pile of sticks and dry leaves to prepare to set the night's flames. Daima, Mila's closest friend, was just coming in from the west as she too carried the kindling of thick twigs in her mouth to add to the pile. She carefully set it down, spitting out the residue when she did. She nearly gagged.

"I don't even want to know where those have been…" Daima sputtered, coughing twice. "Great, I'm gonna be tasting that for the next few hours. Lovely. "

"Don't you complain!" Zira spat from nearby, walking along the borders as she kept a watchful eye over the lionesses around her. "Petty complaints won't get you anywhere, Daima. Now keep working!"

Zira stormed off ahead of them, preparing to inspect the next set of pride members that were tending to the fires before them. As she did, Mila growled at her, but Daima nudged her side.

"Don't let her hear you, Mila" she said reluctantly. "It'll only make things worse."

Hesitating, Mila obliged. She looked down at the dry mound of sticks, leaves and dead, large tree branches in front of her, watching as the wind blew around loose dirt and dust all around it. The mound was of a decent size, spreading a few feet across the ground and surrounded by a group rocks, which Mila had set up earlier. A few minuscule insects crawled around the old twigs, eating away at what remained of the leaves covering them. Daima frowned.

"What's taking him so long?" She asked anxiously. "Nuka should've been here with the fire by now."

"I don't know." Mila stated. "A lot of the others look like they're running late now too."

Daima groaned. "Well, what do you expect? With Zira working us this hard this late at night, I'm surprised no one's collapsed yet. It's completely mad!"

Seconds later, the two lionesses were startled by the sound of what seemed like hysteric laughing and screaming coming behind them. They spun around, and instantly, Mila started giggling while Daima simply rolled her eyes.

"Not as insane as him, apparently." She muttered as they saw Nuka approaching at last, having returned from the Elephant Graveyard. He had two long, dry sticks clenched in his mouth, both of them burning on the ends of them. Nuka's eyes were wide, he was laughing through clenched teeth, running around a couple of times, and he appeared to be jumping around at the same time. He was twirling his head all around as the fire flew all around him. His whiskers almost seemed to be singed. Not that that was anything new for him, of course.

"Typical Nuka…" Daima sighed as he ran and leapt in their direction. "What is it with him and fire?"

Mila shrugged. "Who knows? But it's kinda funny to me." She said, cracking a wide smile and holding back further laughter as she watched Nuka's hysteric antics before her. Nuka always did have an 'interesting' reaction when it came to fire, but sometimes, Mila felt that Nuka was exaggerating it as an act to entertain her. She would never know for sure, but if that were the case, it was working. Eventually, Nuka came to a halt in between the two lionesses, spitting out the sticks from his mouth and making them land in the mound of kindling in front of them. The twigs, branches and the leaves lit up almost immediately, and they watched as the orange and golden colored flames enveloped the wood, rendering the leaves little more than charred ashes within seconds. Nuka took a moment to catch his breath, the taste of dry wood in his mouth making him cough a few times. He itched himself from the termites plaguing his skin.

"I'm not going back there again tonight", Nuka said, sounding slightly unnerved. "That place got even creepier since the hyenas left!"

"At least we don't have to deal with them anymore." Mila said encouragingly. "I'm glad those dirty things are gone."

While they said this, the immediate area surrounding them was brightly illuminated with fire, and Daima sounded off.

"Another one's lit, Zira!" She shouted to inform her. From some ways away, Zira looked behind them and nodded briefly. "Excellent work. Now one of you, move out and collect more wood! We must keep these fires burning as long as we can through the night."

Nuka frowned, turning his attention away from the fire at last. "What about sleep, mother? We can't do this all night!" He spoke up to her. Zira took a few steps closer to him, Mila and Daima. "I went over it already, Nuka" She spoke, sounding hopelessly annoyed. "We take stints for this! When the moon is at its highest point, half of you may head to sleep while the rest of us keep working, and then that half rests during the day!"

"Oh… right…" Nuka said, sounding embarrassed. "I kind of forgot…"

Mila grinned and nuzzled him lightly. "Don't feel bad, Nuka. It happens to the best of us." She said in an attempt to comfort him. Nuka smiled and nuzzled her back. Once they did this, Daima took a few steps past the fire as its size and intensity grew, looking out to the distance. She felt the heat of the flames against her side, which contrasted with the rest of the cold air surrounding her. She watching the clouds move against the stars with the very faint sounds of insects off in the distance. The scent of burning wood beside her was thick as the wind blew the smoke and the ashes in her direction.

"Is it me" she started. "Or has Zira gotten a lot worse since yesterday? She's never kept anyone up all night before."

Nuka gave her a black look suddenly. "You know why, Daima." He replied, sounding almost grim. "It's because of Kovu. Thanks to him we have to keep these borders lit all night ,just so no one's caught escaping like him."

At the mention of Kovu's name, Nuka's voice audibly strained. Daima bowed her head. Neither Nuka nor Mila saw it while she was facing away from them, but she formed an incensed look on her face, glaring in the direction of Pride Rock. "This is all his fault."

"What do you mean?" Mila asked. Daima looked back to her friend. "You know what I mean. You heard what Zira said; He turned against us and sided with the enemy. How could he ever do that?"

Mila groaned slightly to herself, trying to think of what to say. She knew she had to be careful as to not let it slip that she was in favor of Kovu leaving, much less with Nuka around. "Well, maybe he was just confused and he'll realize what he did wrong." She lied, trying to sound sincere and comforting about it. "I'm sure he'll come to his senses sooner or later."

"If the little termite comes back, he's really going to get it from mother." Nuka said. Mila looked over to him. "Why?" She asked. "Wouldn't you stand up for him like you did before?"

Nuka was about to say something, but before he could, he just sighed and looked away from her. The scent of the smoke, which had been bothering him and irritating his nose, was the last thing on his mind now.

"Wouldn't you?"

Mila got no reply.

"Nuka, please" she pleaded. "Kovu's your brother. He might come back, and if he does, you need to stand up for him."

"But… Kovu left us." Nuka finally said at length. "After all I did for him, siding with Simba was the only thanks I got."

"So it's a no, then, Nuka?" Mila questioned further, her tone of voice becoming slightly more stern now. It was here that Nuka finally faced her again. "Well, how would you feel if your brother went and left you after you stood up for him already?"

Mila could sense that Nuka's voice was tensing up now too. From beside them, Daima could practically feel the growing tension beginning to augment within the air around them. They started talking over one another now, as though they both wanted their side and only their side to be heard.

"I would try to understand his reasons, first off." Mila argued. "Like you should with Kovu."

"What reasons do I need, Mila? He _wanted_ Simba to take him, you heard what mother said! If that isn't betraying trust, what is?"

"He made a mistake, Nuka!" Mila went on, still trying to hide her true feelings as best as she could. "If you were really his brother you would understand that!"

"And how would you know?" Nuka bickered, his face coming up to hers now. "You weren't there to see it!"

"And neither were you!" She yelled. "How do you know he intended to betray you?!"

"Because he thought the one who killed my dad was more worth it than his own flesh and blood, Mila!"

"Oh you're so stubborn, Nuka! We don't know that!" She yelled further. "We're only going by Zira's word, how can we trust her?!"

"Why would she lie, Mila?!"

"Oh great, first you say Kovu abandoned his trust in you, but Great Kings forbid that anyone doesn't trust Zira around here, Nuka!"

By now, Nuka's voice was sounding hoarse as he yelled this loudly at Mila, their argument finally reaching a breaking point. And the entire time, Mila was just sitting beside the fire and looking away, rolling her eyes and just praying for it to end.

"I'm not saying I trust mother all the time! But the little termite's not here, now is he?! If we weren't there, she's all we've got to go by! I'll take her word over Simba's any day of the week! Kovu's a traitor and you know it! And I'm starting to think I won't even care if he comes back at all!"

Mila gasped. It wasn't until now that she noticed that the majority of the lionesses in the pride were crowding around them now, the others having overheard their argument. But the sheer bitterness at Nuka's remarks about the situation weren't something she expected at all from him, especially concerning his own brother. Losing her patience at last, Mila tensed up and almost seemed to tower over him as she got close and screamed "_Some brother you are you stubborn termite-infested weasel!_"

Her voice boomed, echoing across the landscape around her. The lioness didn't even wait to see or hear Nuka's reaction before she swung around in the other direction, her breathing becoming heavy. Even Daima watched with a raised eyebrow now. Mila stormed off away from him and the fires, not caring if the moon wasn't at its highest point yet. As far as she was concerned at that moment, she was finished for the night. She strutted off in the direction of the termite mound for several minutes, every step seeming like a falling star striking the ground. She was sure that Nuka would try to stop her at some point, but her guess never came to be. She was by herself in the middle of the wasteland she called home now. The fire was still vibrant and alive in her eyes as she walked into the mound. She forcefully pushed a loose rock aside, making it strike the dirty walls with a loud thump that echoed slightly. The lioness growled.

"How could you say that, Nuka?" She ranted to herself, now making an effort to keep her fuming voice low. "At least be thankful Zira doesn't have to hit him every day! '_Won't care if he came back'_, I can't believe you!"

Mila's low tirade reverberated in the chambers around her when she stormed deeper inside the mound, making her way up stone ledges and wherever else her seething legs would carry her within the place. The profuse smell of dust and dead insects was still rich as always, as was the sound of the occasional creaking in the walls, which often made Mila think the place could collapse any day now. Her self-diatribe would've continued further, but Mila suddenly ceased walking and moving around when she heard something below her. She heard faint sounds of whispering coming from the bottom of the dirt ledge she was currently standing upon, and when Mila gazed down to find the source of the sound, she winced. She saw Vitani again, laying down and curled up inside of Kovu's old sleeping stump, which consisted of a dead tree trunk in a basin-like shape that was just smooth enough to sleep on. Vitani's face was buried beneath her paws, and she was shifting around ceaselessly trying to relax herself. Mila's expression lightened as she took a few leaps downward from the dirt ledge, trying to stay quiet around the cub. Once she landed on the ground, Mila walked up to the old stump, watching as Vitani gradually gave up her futile attempts to find a comfortable resting position. It was here that she finally took notice of the lioness before her.

"Mila?" She asked softly. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh… Not a whole lot" She replied, trying to sound pleasant for the cub. "I just, uh, needed some time to think about some things."

"What things?"

"Things about Nuka, you could say." Mila said, coming across as uneasy but trying to keep Vitani calm. "He's really not too happy about what happened yesterday."

"I know." Vitani replied, finally looking the lioness in the eye as she lay there. Even though it was the dead of night, Vitani's body still felt hot and sore, like a rock that's been left out in the sun for too long and becomes torrid to the touch. Mila could tell that she looked almost ill.

"Are you feeling all right, Vitani?" She asked concernedly. "Usually you sound so tough and always wanting to fight, but you look… depressed. You haven't said a word since last night."

The cub hardly moved as she answered. "It's Kovu, Mila. I don't want mother to hurt him. I want him back, I really do. But if he does… he's going to get it from her."

Mila decided to take a different approach to Vitani's sadness this time. In spite of her stressed mood from the argument, she smiled crookedly and made her tone more playful, in an effort to try and lighten her spirits. "Hey, come on now, Kovu's a strong cub. I'll bet by the time he comes back, he'll be big enough to beat Zira."

Slowly, Vitani lifted her head up. "You think so?"

"Think so? I know so!" Mila went on. "You guys play-fought all the time, I've seen him beat you a lot of times."

Finally, Vitani uttered a titter to herself. "Well… not always. I pinned him a lot too, you know."

"I guess it runs in the family, then?"

"Maybe." Vitani replied, smiling. "I was able to beat him in a lot of the fight we played in, and we always had a bet to see which of us would say we're the 'mouse' of the two."

"And who won?" Mila asked, already knowing the answer. "I did. Although, sometimes I let him win just to make him feel better." She bragged. Mila rolled her eyes, laughing softly. "I'm sure you did. It sounds like you guys have some good times on your paws, don't you?"

"Yeah." Said the cub. "It's always fun being able to play like that."

"Well…" Mila said, pondering. "Who says you have to stop?"

Vitani was about to ask what she meant, but before she could, Mila leaned into her and started stroking her wildly with her paws, ruffling around her fur a great deal and rubbing her stomach in a way that tickled her immensely. Vitani started audibly laughing. "Aw come on, Mila, quit it!" She said. Mila smiled. "Who's the mouse now, huh? You gonna 'let me win' too, huh?"

Vitani finally stood on all fours within the basin of the small stump and started biting on Mila's fur, accepting her challenge and playfully growling and trying to play-fight her now. Mila played along. "Oh no, not my fur!" She pleaded. "Nuka likes it better when it's groomed!"

"Like he can even groom his own?" Vitani teased, still biting and clawing at her as Mila's paws continued to tickle her greatly. Vitani crawled up onto Mila's paw and dug her developing claws into her; Not in a malicious way, but in more of a childish fun way. Being the cub she was, they didn't hurt. Mila laughed, "I think you're gonna win, Vitani! I can't keep up!" Which only made the cub fight more against the lioness's other paw while she tickled her further. Their playful quarrel went on for several minutes, and it was perhaps the most amount of enjoyment Vitani had felt for herself in days. Most signs of her previous depressed state were gone, and the lioness couldn't help but crack a huge grin as she watched the cub "fight" her. She had to admit, this sort of thing was fun for her as well.

"Vitani!"

Abruptly, the sonorous voice echoed across the termite mound, making both the cub and the lioness freeze. Vitani's blood felt like it had run cold. Mila's eyes widened. The two of them immediately looked at each other.

"Mother's coming!" Vitani gasped, crawling off of Mila now. She went back into the sleeping stump and said "Mila, hide! You're supposed to still be out there!"

Mila needed no reminder. With a quick nod and a last flash of a smile to the small cub, she turned around and leapt in the other direction, taking shelter behind a thick pile of rocks covered in dirt and termites that crawled all along its coarse surface. But she took little notice of them at first, burying herself as tightly and as low to the ground as possible so Zira wouldn't spot her. Mila knew that if the queen of the Outlands were to catch her in there while she was meant to be on fire duty, she would be nothing short of livid. Her heartbeat hastened when she heard Zira's footsteps enter the space before her. Through only a minuscule crack lay between the rocks she took cover behind, Mila's left eye peered through it so she could see what Zira wanted. She watched as she approached Vitani on the stump, and the closer she got, the more anxious Mila got. She was absolutely certain that nothing good would come of this. For a moment, she became alarmed that perhaps her absence after her fight with Nuka was being noticed, and that Zira was already furious.

But compared to what she was expecting, what Zira did next utterly stunned her. Zira slowly came up to Vitani, her expression rather light, and she licked the cub. The lioness didn't seem upset about anything like normally. "How are you, Vitani?" She asked her daughter.

Mila was dumbfounded.

"I'm okay, mother." Vitani lied, seeming just as confused as Mila was right then. Zira nodded. At length, the cub finally asked, "Why are you here?"

"I see you're feeling sad about Kovu and his… departure." Zira replied, sounding almost sad about it.

Skeptically, she replied, "Yeah… I am."

Zira came up closer to the cub now, her tone almost sounding calm for a change. While she did, Mila began to twitch from behind the rocks as she felt numerous termites beginning to crawl into her fur. She wouldn't risk giving herself away, so she couldn't even scratch them off with her leg from behind.

"I'd like you to listen, Vitani. I want to warn you that things will be harder from now on, but there's good reason for it. It's only for this pride's own good, and for the pride's future. For your future. We need Kovu back, now. Do you understand?"

Vitani nodded. "I know. But why are you setting our borders on fire?"

"So no one is caught escaping, Vitani." The queen answered. "We're putting the lionesses on guard for the night. That way if anyone's caught trying to escape like Kovu did, we'll be able to catch them. No getting away in secret in the dark, just in case."

The cub wanted to say something to this, but she could hardly form any words at all. Partly because she was so caught off-guard by Zira's new tone. It'd been months since she'd seen or heard her like this. The same went for Mila, but her thoughts were now mostly preoccupied with the burning and itching sensations she was getting all over her body now. Staying still was getting increasingly difficult as the termites invaded her fur. She could've sworn she even felt one crawl up her nose.

"I owe you an explanation for some things." Zira went on. "The morning before he left, when I was yelling at him for not getting up… I was only doing it to help him."

Vitani raised an eyebrow now.

"Living in such conditions as these calls for a rough life to keep up with it. I had him do the things he did… killing mice and training to fight… to strengthen him. It builds character. I need all the assistance I can get with finding food, even getting small mice can help us. If we're able to get Kovu back soon, we'll make him stronger than ever so he can help avenge Scar. Because he _is_ Scar's heir."

"But Scar wasn't his father."

"No. But Kovu was hand-chosen by him, and we must respect that. He can't possibly do what Scar wanted him to if he's living with… them. I want what's best for Kovu."

_Yeah, sure you do…_ Mila thought to herself sarcastically, gritting her teeth in trying her damnedest to resist the urge to scratch herself all over. The termites biting and crawling all over her made her want to jump at any minute. _Now I know how Nuka feels._

"You don't have to be so angry about it though, mother." Vitani finally said, wanting to see how Zira would react. The queen replied, with just a hint of sternness in her voice, "As I said, Vitani, harsh conditions call for a harsh life to endure it. He must build as much power as he can. When I strike him, it's because I want him to learn as soon as possible what not to do or say to defy me. Because he is our only hope for someday escaping these Outlands."

"I guess…" The cub muttered, pretending to agree with this with her head bowing. "So… how are we going to get him back?"

"I still must think of a plan. _Simba's_ more wary of us than ever after what your brother did." She answered, spitting Simba's name as though it were poison. "But Kovu is young. There's still time to redeem him. Once he returns, I _will_ do just that. Do you understand, Vitani?"

The cub just sat there, a million thoughts going through her mind at once. On one hand, Zira's words actually did make some sense to her, and it hit Vitani right then that her mother actually did have a defensible point of view on things. But still, Vitani suspected that something had to be going on for Zira to suddenly be acting so calm. She wasn't one to be like this so suddenly. But something about the look in Zira's eyes made her wonder otherwise. She looked sincere and sounded serious with her words about Kovu, as though she did care for him. Did she truly? Was she lying? Was she just losing her mind all together? Vitani couldn't tell. Mila couldn't either, but that was mostly because of the indescribable itching sensations she was feeling on every inch of her body now, her breathing beginning to become heavy. Her resistance against leaping over and scratching herself into submission was wearing dangerously thin.

At length, Vitani just blinked a few times and nodded. "I understand." She said with some sincerity.

"Good." Zira said finally, beginning to turn around and head back outside to further inspect the border fires. "Get rest now, Vitani. You must be up as early as possible tomorrow."

With only that, the queen of the Outlands treaded back outside, the faint glows of fire still visible in the distance away from the termite mound. Despite Mila's dense discomfort, she still had a few moments to think as well, since Zira would've still heard her if she came out too early. Mila picked up on every word from the queen, and her immediate impression was to deny all of it and write her off as her usual delusions. But once Zira's words really began to sink in for her, she couldn't deny that, to an extent, they did make sense just as Vitani thought. She could understand the prospect of wanting to strengthen Kovu's will, since she did begrudgingly agree that the Outlands' harsh environment did require some roughness to endure. At least to some extent. Of course, Mila could never see this as justification for hitting Kovu or yelling at him as harshly as Zira always did. But regardless, although Mila rejected it to herself at first, she had no choice but to confess it: Zira had a fairly solid point in some respects. She had the right ideas in a way, but she then thought about the ways that she went much too far above and beyond in executing them. Zira didn't seem to understand that she wasn't helping the harsh conditions by being so cruel. It occurred to the lioness that perhaps Zira just wasn't aware of how harsh she was, and that her intentions really could have been good. There were so many possible explanations now that she had heard Zira's side of the story. Mila could've pondered this for hours more, but the various pangs upon her ripped away her train of thought like a termite on the skin of a helpless animal being torn off by its claws.

The precise moment that they were sure Zira was out of hearing range, Mila sprang out from behind the dirty pile of rocks, screaming almost hysterically as she furiously scratched at her fur on every spot that her four paws could reach. She twitched and rolled all over the ground, dirt now covering parts of her pelt. Vitani couldn't help but giggle at the sight. She bit and clawed at her sides, trying desperately to reach every inch of her skin irritation and tend to it. (As best as she could, that is.) She did this for several minutes, her breath running short after a while. When she finally managed to calm herself, Vitani chortled.

"Looks like you and Nuka have more in common than I thought."


	9. Chapter VIII

As much as Kovu had wanted to feel happiness in the Pride Lands, there was another feeling he was having as the sun rose the next day. One that he hadn't anticipated on having so soon: Boredom.

He was laying on his side in Pride Rock's den, with Nadra resting calmly beside him as he moaned in pure lethargy. The sun's rays were pouring into the place, giving off a golden morning hue against the rocks. He heard the sound of birds flocking the skies outside, the cool early breeze was whistling around him, and the scent of the morning dew was thick. On any other day, this would've been nothing short of heaven for him. But there was just one problem: Kovu couldn't head outside to enjoy any of it. He tossed and turned.

"Why'd we have to play tag?" He said to himself quietly. "We could've gone swimming or climbed trees, but she just _had_ to keep going where we stopped."

From behind, he heard Nadra laugh. "It's not like you're alone in this. I have to stay here too so I can watch you. Kiara's grounded just as you are for today."

"But you could've gone hunting today." Kovu replied.

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's nice to take a break from it once in a while anyway. Keep in mind, Kovu, it's only for today. Tomorrow, you two can have all the time in the world to play until you can't take it anymore."

"I guess that sounds good." The cub said, sighing. "But I wish to find something to do _now_."

He rolled his eyes, desperately trying to think of something to do to entertain himself as he stayed within the confines of the den. Kovu was certainly thankful that he no longer had to kill when he didn't want to or climb dangerous rock piles anymore, but somehow, not being able to do anything for a day was almost comparatively excruciating. Especially because the savannah paradise that lay just on the outside was tempting him further.

"Are you sure I can't even be out for a little bit, mom?" He asked Nadra. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you. Those are mine and Simba's rules for today."

"But what if I get hungry or thirsty?" Kovu went on. "I'll have to go outside for water. And what if I…you know. Have to go?"

Kovu blushed at that last part. Nadra responded, "Well, that's the only thing I think I can let you out for. But other than that, you need to stay here."

Kovu frowned visibly, rolling from side to side. Nadra could tell he was being bothered badly, so she softly spoke to him again. "Oh, don't worry, Kovu. It won't be for long. How about this? You and I can play a game to pass the time."

The cub looked up. "A game?"

She nodded. "I know a few. Here, wait just a sec."

With that, the lioness stood up and took a moment to stretch herself out, and she treaded to the back side of the den. There was a large rock pile in the small space of it, and there were so many loose stones around the back, a small animal could easily hide in it. From within it, she found a small, loose rock amongst the cluster of them, and she scooted it over with her muzzle against the ground. Kovu rose his eyebrow.

"Mom? What are you-?"

He stopped when Nadra came up to him with it, sliding the rock over to him. "It's easy. You and I can slide this rock back and forth to each other, and we have to keep it from moving past one of us. Whoever goes the longest without letting it slide behind them wins."

Kovu quickly asked, "If I win, does that mean I can go back outside?"

She gave him a crooked smile. "Well… not exactly. But I can give you a good congratulations for it for now."

The cub groaned a bit, this idea hardly doing anything to peak his interest. He sat up a few feet in front of Nadra and reluctantly agreed to play this game with her. Under different circumstances, it would've sounded more fun to him. But while he was grounded and had no other options, it sounded as boring as just laying there.

_I wonder if Kiara's got it any better right now_, he thought.

* * *

"Remind me, please… how were _you_ _two_ able to raise Simba, exactly?"

Zazu grumbled for what felt like the hundredth time that day, watching as Timon and Pumbaa continued to bicker over who deserved what share of a clump of insects they'd found nearby. He ruffled his feathers for a moment, stretching his wings out while he sat on a low-hanging tree branch. Below him was Kiara, who was laying on her side and watching with Zazu as Timon and Pumbaa argued. Something about it was strangely entertaining to her, since she didn't have many other options for what to do at the moment.

"What are you, blind!? I found them first, Pumbaa!" Timon shout out."You get the butterflies here, and I get the beetles there! Get the picture?"

"Why do you always get the beetles, Timon?" Pumbaa interjected. "You never share them with me."

"Because they sure ain't havin' a reunion any time soon, now are they?"

"Huh?"

"You two are acting like children," Zazu said in annoyance. Timon gave him a glare. "What? There's a grub shortage lately, haven't you noticed?"

Kiara let out a sigh. As amused as she was while watching Timon and Pumbaa argue amongst themselves, she'd have given anything to slip away and do something else. Her mind wandered into fantasies of running through the grass, climbing trees, swimming in the water hole and playing hide-and-seek with him. Only for today, she thought, trying not to burst in anticipation for tomorrow.

"Say, are you okay, Kiara?" Pumbaa suddenly asked her with concern, breaking her from her thoughts. She nodded. "Oh, um, I'm fine. Thanks."

"You still shook up from yesterday?" Timon jumped in.

"Maybe a little bit." Kiara spoke with a shrug. Zazu scoffed. "I'm not surprised." he muttered.

"Ah, don't sweat it kid, it was just a scratch," The meerkat reassured her. Pumbaa observed Kiara's faint wound. "Does it still hurt?"

She replied, "Only a little now. Rafiki says it didn't go deep."

Timon chuckled. "I'll let you in on a little secret, princess," he began. "If I had a grub for every time your dad scratched me by accident at your age, I'd never have to so much as get up for the rest of my life."

He whispered to himself, "And I'd weigh more than Pumbaa too..."

"Who says he scratched her by accident?" Zazu murmured, barely loud enough for the others to hear. Immediately, the three of them looked up at him in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?" Kiara asked.

Zazu shrugged. "Oh, never you mind, princess. I was just thinking out loud."

"No, no what'd you say? Something about the accident?" Timon started.

"Don't bother, any of you. It's no concern." The hornbill argued.

"Oh spit it out, banana beak!" Timon shouted. That was enough to get his attention. It worked every time.

"It's MISTER banana beak to you, MISTER meerkat!" Zazu corrected him. "And if you _must_ know, I think the king made a mistake letting that Outsider riffraff into the Pride Lands."

Kiara went wide-eyed at Zazu's statement, "You mean Kovu?"

"The same."

"What?! What the heck for?" Timon retorted. "That kid didn't do anything wrong."

"He's an Outsider in every sense of the word. Born in the Outlands, raised by Zira herself." Zazu explained. "Great Kings only know what sorts of filth she could've put in his mind."

Kiara became unsettled. "But Zazu, it was an accident. He didn't mean to hurt me."

Zazu flew onto a rock and focused on all three of them sternly. "Perhaps it was an accident, but you know what else it was? Instinct. Instinct from that brutish lifestyle Zira must have put him through. His body is repeating everything she taught him, it happened all the time when Scar was king. I'm truly surprised he didn't become a savage like him already. But then again, I suppose he _is_ nothing compared to what his mother is."

"But things are different now. Kovu's one of us!" Pumbaa protested. Zazu scoffed. "Only because Simba decided it. If it were up to me, I would send him back to the Outlands."

Timon crossed his arms. "Oh, lighten up already, Zazu. You didn't even see what his psycho mom did to him the other day."

"Yeah, you aren't being fair. Zira hurt him right in front of us!" Pumbaa added. Zazu, feeling fed up now, glided down and looked at them both. "And what makes you think they both weren't just acting it out to get him here?"

"What are you talking about, ya' conspiracy theorist?" Timon remarked, sounding annoyed . "You really need to stop hanging around Simba."

Pumbaa huffed his nose like he often did. "You only think that because he's an Outsider."

"Once an Outsider, always an Outsider. They're not to be trusted. Not after what they did to us. Zira and her pride proved that!" Zazu finally snapped.

"Who do I have to do to make you get it, you stale blueberry?" Timon went on. "Yeesh, cut the kid some slack, he's been through a lot."

"Do I need to say what I said to Simba about putting your behind in your past again?" Pumbaa asked. Zazu lifted an eyebrow abruptly. "Excuse me?!"

Timon gently pushed the warthog back. "Uh, Pumbaa? You'd better leave the talking to me here."

He cleared his throat. "What he _means_ is, you've gotta put the past behind you."

While all this was going on, Kiara looked around. She saw how invested the three of them were in their little 'debate', and she quietly started to sneak off. Kiara silently crept through a nearby bush surrounded by savannah trees, trying her hardest not to be seen. She could only hope that the dew-ridden grass and leaves brushing against her fur wouldn't make much of a sound. But thanks to her caution, the cub soon managed to get completely out of sight from the other three, with Pride Rock behind her now. She rose back up. Now, ahead of her was only grass, trees, hills and grazing herds as far as the eye could see. Smiling, Kiara sprang off, finally free from her confinement and wandering around in any direction that her paws decided to carry her. But as she ran, Zazu's words were getting to her. Why would he ever say those things about Kovu and the rest of the Outsiders? If he was any proof, surely not all of them could be bad.

_Zazu's wrong, Kovu's not bad,_ she thought. _Right…?_

"Kiara? Is everyting okay?"

Kiara immediately froze in place, nearly jumping out of her skin when she heard her name. Her head darted over, expecting to be caught and taken back to Pride Rock when she saw a familiar elderly baboon coming up to her. The princess mentally sighed in relief. The shock slowly wore off in her body as Kiara tried to say something to him.

"Ah! Oh, uh, Rafiki! I was...uh..."

The shaman just smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Sneaking away from your discipline, are you?"

Kiara's ears suddenly drooped from guilt, and her eyes went away from him. "Well..."

Rafiki started to laugh like he always did. "Aha, just as I thought! Nothing can keep a cub like you down! You and your father truly are more alike den you know."

Kiara blinked. "What? Really?" She asked. Rafiki nodded. "Oh yes! Simba is not unfamiliar to what you are doing now. Hoho, You should have seen him when he was your age! Dat little rascal! Simba was a great trouble maker, I have many stories of it!"

She smiled. "Well, your awfully happy today." The cub said. Rafiki replied, "Of course! We do have a newcomer to de Pride Lands, do we not? De Great Kings themselves are happy, I would have to be a complete baboon not to be too!"

Kiara gave him an odd look before her gaze drifted away from him. Rafiki ushered her forth and smirked. "So now dat you have escaped, what is on your mind, Kiara?"

* * *

Back in Pride Rock's den, Kovu and Nadra were still hitting the rock back and forth between one another, but Kovu seemed to be enjoying himself a bit more. The sound of the stone sliding there and back again was starting to annoy him, but it was certainly a better game with a rock than the times he was instructed to break one. Kovu smiled as he pushed it again. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

Nadra pushed back. "That's good! See? It can be fun."

Kovu swiped the rock hard with his paw. It accidentally flew in the air to the side, bounced off one of the rocky walls and landed several feet outside the den. Kovu gazed out in slight disappointment, "Ah man!"

"Don't worry, Kovu, it happens after a while. You wait here, I'll go get it." Nadra said. She started to stand back up to do just that, but then the cub came up to her. "Uh, actually mom, can I go get it? I want some fresh air."

Normally, Nadra wouldn't have allowed Kovu to be outside, since her and Simba's agreement was for him to stay there. But she saw how the small stone hadn't flown terribly far out of the den, so she saw no harm in letting Kovu step outside for a moment to get it. She shrugged. "Well, okay. But don't be too long."

Kovu perked up and smiled. "Thanks mom, I'll be right back!"

With that, he excitedly went outside the den to get the rock, finally being able to step into the bright day's direct sunlight and crisp air. It felt especially good on a day like today. But as soon as he spotted the stone and reached for it, he saw something out of the corner of his eye: Kiara and Rafiki standing beside each other down on the ground to his left, and he halted. He stood there and watched for a few seconds, not expecting to see Kiara out in the Pride Lands like this. It didn't take long before his feelings of guilt from the day before started to come back to him.

"Come on, Kovu!" Nadra called out.

Kovu hesitated. Eventually, he stepped back into the den without the rock, now looking downcast with his ears drooping ever so slightly. Nadra tilted her head in confusion. "Where's the rock?"

He stayed still and gave no reply. it wasn't long before the lioness was able to read the expression on the cub's face. Kovu looked up. "Uh... about that, mom…"

"Did it get lost?"

"Not exactly."

Nadra raised an eyebrow. "What are you up to, Kovu?"

He sat down, feeling too nervous to make eye contact for long. "I'm not up to anything mom, it's just… I saw Kiara out there."

The lioness seemed surprised. "Huh? Kiara? What's she doing out there?" The cub shrugged. "I don't know, she's not supposed to be."

Nadra frowned. "Was she alone?" she asked further. Kovu shook his head and spoke, "No, Rafiki's with her. But I still feel bad for hurting her, mom."

_What's that crazy monkey doing this time?_ she thought to herself. Nadra gave her son an odd look. "Why, Kovu? Is it because you got grounded for it?"

He immediately shook his head. "No, no it isn't."

She came closer to him now, her voice becoming more comforting. "Still feeling guilty, huh?"

Kovu nodded. "I want to talk to her. When we left Rafiki's tree yesterday, she looked scared of me. I don't want her to be scared, mom. I'm not like Zira."

"I'm sure she isn't afraid of you like that, Kovu." The lioness said, giving him a gentle lick on the face. "You're too sweet to be scary. I'll bet she's forgiven you already."

"Thanks." Kovu replied earnestly. He glanced back to the outside, quickly getting anxious that he was going to miss his day's opportunity. Nadra started to understand what he was feeling, and she felt sympathetic for him.

"But besides, didn't you already apologized to her yesterday? What more would you want to say to her?"

Kovu continued to stare outwards. "I want to tell her it won't happen again. I want to do more to prove it."

"Like what?"

"Well", he started. "I saw some flowers outside yesterday. Maybe I could give her one."

Nadra couldn't help but smile when she thought of Kovu doing such a thing. She knew what flower patch he was referring to, it wasn't far from the right side of Pride Rock. "That sounds very nice of you, Kovu. But you are still grounded though, just remember that."

"I know." The cub said.

"I'll let you speak to her for now, but I want you to be back before Simba sees you. What he doesn't know won't hurt him." She said with a wink at the end. Immediately, Kovu's head rose back up, his ears regained their posture and he nuzzled her front paw. "Thank you, mom." He said warmly. Nadra smiled and put her other paw on his back.

"Anything for you."

With that, Kovu smiled at his mother and ran out into the sun again, moving past the small rock from before. Pacing down the bumpy stone ramp and reaching the ground once more, he walked through the grass towards Kiara and Rafiki, cautiously staying low so he wouldn't be seen by them. As soon as he got within earshot of the two, he dove behind a rock and stopped when he heard Kiara say his name. He silently listened in to what she was saying to the age-old shaman.

"Well, mostly Kovu." The princess said. "Zazu got into a fight with Timon and Pumbaa about him hurting me yesterday."

Rafiki listened intently. "And what did dey say?"

The princess gave him a worried look. "Zazu said Kovu's still bad and that we should send him back. They tried to tell him Kovu's good now, but Zazu wasn't listening. I think he's wrong."

Kovu felt a shiver run down his spine. He seemed nothing short of flabbergasted that someone in the Pride Lands could still say such things about him. He now feared that word could've gotten about what happened the day before, and now the Pride Land animals were going back to thinking he was just another Outsider. His ears drooped again. _Great_, he thought. _They already think I'm a monster._

Rafiki started laughing. "Let this prove to you that not all are who dey seem, princess."

Kiara tilted her head. "Huh?" She uttered to herself. The shaman continued. "Zazu is meant to be de smart one, and your father's friends may look… well, less den sharp. But it seems like Zazu's judgement has been blinded by prejudice. Your father's friends have not, and neither have you. Strange how things can be reversed in times like dis, hm?"

She gazed at him in worry. "Yeah but... what if Zazu's right?"

"Hm?"

Kiara sat down and went on. "I don't know, Rafiki. Kovu's my best friend, but what if it really is a trick? Zazu said he still had the instinct with him. I don't want the instinct to hurt me again."

That was all Kovu wanted to hear any more of. He understood. Almost instantly, he turned around and walked off in the other direction, unable to hear them anymore.

Rafiki put his hand on his hip. "Now dat sounds like someting your father would say."

He tapped her head with his stick, just lightly enough so that it wouldn't seriously hurt her. "Ouch!" She exclaimed. "You are only proving what I said about reversed expectations." Rafiki chided gently. Kiara rubbed her head.

"I know, I know, but I want to be sure. Daddy isn't helping much either. I'm scared he won't trust Kovu anymore. What if he was right before?"

Rafiki shook his head. "Oh, princess Kiara, you are much too young to be having these troubles. Your elders are de ones who should be thinking of dese things."

She looked at Rafiki in confusion. "What do you mean?"

The baboon continued, "Your father. He is always so blinded by fear of you being harmed, that he does not realize he is sheltering you. Yes, he may have trouble trusting others sometimes. But! Out of all de lions in Africa, _he_ was the one who trusted Kovu enough to bring him here and let an Outsider be your friend. Does dat not sound like he trusts de new cub?"

"I guess. But it already got us both grounded, and It's embarrassing."

"You want to be his friend, do you not?"

"Absolutely", Kiara answered for him. "But I want things to go good. Daddy said he's never made a change this big before. Not since great-uncle Scar died."

Rafiki pet her. "What Kovu did was an accident. He is still adjusting to his new life here. He is not used to such kindness, you must understand dis."

Kiara nodded. "I know..."

"Do not let a small accident ruin de rest of your lives together. You two have many years to be friends, it would be terrible to let something as small as dis end all of that so soon."

Kiara smiled now. "I guess it would be silly to stop being Kovu's friend because of an accident."

Rafiki patted her head, "Dere's a good princess. As soon as this is over, go and show him how a future queen of de Pride Lands truly welcomes new guests!"

"Okay, I will!"

Moments later, she heard a voice from behind. "Kiara?" it said.

The princess nearly jumped again as she spun around, only to see none other than Kovu again. Her first immediate thought was to ask what he was doing out of the den, but her eyes widened when she saw a large, white and purple flower in his mouth, held by the stem. It appeared fully in bloom, the petals had the most beautiful pattern on them she'd ever seen, and its rich, sweet scent was thick. The former Outsider tried smiling earnestly.

"Hi." He said, sounding uncertain. "I-I wanted to give this to you. I'm really sorry I hurt you yesterday, Kiara, I'll never do it again."

Kiara couldn't help but gasp and light up in an enormous smile after this. Before she could say anything to him about it, Kovu walked close up to her and pinned the flower on the side of her left ear, where it rested in the nook between the ear's base and her head. "I thought you might like this flower I found for you."

"Kovu…" she tried to say. Rafiki smiled at the two cubs. "Now do you doubt de newcomer, Kiara?"

As an answer, all she did next was go up to Kovu and give him a warm, soft hug. Kovu returned it. "Aw, thank you Kovu, thank you! Thank you!" She repeated a few times more. Kovu couldn't help but purr. "I don't want you to be scared of me after…. you know."

"I'm not scared of you." She giggled. "You're my best friend!"

Kovu soon looked up to Rafiki, where the shaman gave him a look of approval. "You have de true spirit of a Pride Lander already, Kovu." He spoke, kneeling down to face the cub eye-to-eye. "The Great Kings have chosen wisely."

"Thanks Rafiki." Kovu replied. He felt Kiara give him a slight nuzzle. "Zazu's definitely wrong now." She said to him.

They embraced each other for a moment more until Rafiki cleared his throat. "I do hope though, that Simba does not catch you two troublemakers out here."

* * *

The sun was once again setting on the Pride Lands, casting it's warm, golden light upon the grasses and trees that dotted the savannah. With a flock of birds gliding above them, Simba and Nala were walking side-by-side towards Pride Rock. Behind them were several huntresses, following their king and queen home after another successful hunt. Simba had spent much of his day patrolling the borders, wanting to keep a particularly close eye out for any intruders. After what happened with Kovu, Simba was sure one of the Outsiders would try something in this time of new tension between the two prides. For today, at least, Simba hadn't sensed any trace of them inside his boundaries, much to his relief. Although, he did feel somewhat concerned when he saw smoke rising from the edges of the Outlands on the other side of the river that morning.

While walking, Simba looked to Nala, who was dragging a dead gazelle's carcass with her teeth. "Did you get a look at the Outlands earlier today, Nala?"

The queen replied with her teeth bared, "No, why?" Simba explained, "I saw smoke rising by their borders earlier. Do you think something happened last night?"

Nala simply shook her head. "I don't have a clue. Great Kings only know what Zira's been doing since Kovu came here."

Simba couldn't help but grin as he heard Nala talking so muffled. She noticed.

"What?"

"It's nothing, Nala."

"No, I know that look, Simba. What is it?"

Simba looked away slightly. "Nothing, it's just... kinda funny how you talk with food in your mouth."

"Oh, stop it, Simba." She replied teasingly. "You don't want me to make you carry this instead now, do you?"

That was enough to get the king to come back to his senses. It worked every time he started to show his immature side. "Timon and Pumbaa sure rubbed off on you good, Simba."

Not a minute after she mentioned them, the queen saw the meerkat and the warthog out ahead of her, near the base of Pride Rock. It was tough to tell from her distance, but the two of them seemed frantic about something. They were darting around the loose rocks at the bottom, moving them around and looking all over the place for some reason. The second their eyes fell upon Simba and Nala, they screamed.

"What? What is it?" Nala called out to them, looking confused. They tried their hardest to muster up an answer, but nothing came to them. Just then, they saw Zazu flying overhead, diving down through the air and landing on the ground in front of Timon and Pumbaa. He looked almost as panicked as they did.

"There's no sign of either of them anywhere!" Zazu exclaimed. "I simply don't know where else to-"

Zazu froze when he felt a shadow fall over him. He audibly gulped and looked above, only to find that the shadow was coming from none other than Simba himself. Zazu tried to keep his composure.

"Sire! Ah, I… Um... wonderful sunset we're having, right sire?"

Simba gave him a stern look. "What are you three doing here? You're supposed to be watching Kiara!"

"We were!" Pumbaa said back. "But she ran off! We don't know where she is!"

Simba's eyes shot wide open. "Kiara's gone?!"

"What?!" Nala cried, running up beside the king now and dropping the gazelle carcass. "Where was she last?" She asked concernedly. Zazu responded, "Behind Pride Rock, just as you instructed her to stay! She slipped away so quietly! Kovu's gone missing too!"

"Did you look in the den?" Simba questioned.

"He wasn't there, his mom said they just took off!" Timon added, explaining the situation to them. Nala groaned. "So you're saying Kiara and Kovu both disappeared at once?"

"That seems to be the case, madam." Zazu replied. Simba snarled. "I don't believe this. Are you sure you checked everywhere possible?"

"Yes, we looked everywhere!" The majordomo pleaded. "We're sorry, Simba, it wasn't our fault!" Pumbaa added.

Nala asked further, "Where is Nadra right now?"

Timon replied, "Still in the den, I think."

Nodding, the queen took off up the stone ramp of Pride Rock, heading for the inside. Simba shouted up to her, "Nala, what're you doing?"

"I want to know where Nadra saw them last! She's bound to know something!" She answered. "You search the backlands for them!" With that, she ran inside, hoping to get any help she could from Nadra. Simba watched. A little bit of time passed before one of the other huntresses approached him, appearing puzzled.

"Is everything all right, my king?" She asked. Simba replied, "Kiara's gone, Nala's going to see if Nadra can help us find her and Kovu."

To the end of his days, Simba would swear on his father's life that he heard the huntress say "What? She's gone _again_?" under her breath. Ignoring it for the time being, Simba began to walk forth to head into the backlands like Nala instructed. But right before he could, he heard his queen call again.

"Simba! Simba come here, quickly!" She said, sounding anxious. Being the overprotective lion Simba was, he nearly sprained every muscle in his body at once as he spun around and bolted up to the den as fast as he did. Some of the huntresses even gasped from seeing how abrupt he went inside. He reached the entrance and passed by Nala. Simba, with a million possible scenarios running through his mind right then, expected to see another Outsider or some sort of intruder he would have to fight off or protect Kiara from.

But once he saw what was actually inside, he immediately realized there was no protection needed.

Nadra was resting on her side, looking half-asleep with Kovu and Kiara both curled up against her. Both of the cubs were fast asleep by now, breathing softly and silently. Kovu slept on his stomach, While Kiara had dozed off while laying against Nadra's body on her back. Close by, Nala came up to Simba. "Isn't that just the most precious thing?" She cooed. Simba took a moment to catch his breath, still trying to comprehend what he was seeing. "What the… what's going on here?"

Nadra chuckled. "Let's just say it takes more than a king's orders to keep these two apart for long."

Simba was becoming increasingly perplexed. "How? I made sure Kiara was watched…" He muttered out. Nala came up to her king, nuzzled him and turned to Nadra. "At least they're safe. So what did happen, Nadra?" she asked.

The lioness replied with a yawn, "Kovu saw your daughter out with Rafiki, and he wanted to really apologize for yesterday. So he gave Kiara this little flower to keep, they stayed in here together, and a little bit ago they fell asleep."

"Oh, that's adorable!" Nala exclaimed, coming in to get a closer look at the two of them. She licked Kiara lovingly. "Thank you for watching them, Nadra."

The lioness nodded. "It's my pleasure, my queen."

Just then, the rest of the pride's huntresses stepped up into the den. Nala addressed them. "Shhh, try not to be too loud, girls. The cubs are asleep."

The lionesses complied, stepping in slowly and being careful with the dead animals they'd caught for the day, preparing them to be devoured. A few of them sighed in relief, while others quietly cooed too. One of them whispered "Well, that didn't last long." Within the small crowd of pride members was Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu. They still looked as anxious as before.

"Simba! Buddy, I'm so sorry!" Timon exclaimed guiltily. "I should've known Zazu would let this happen!"

"Wha-! Me?!" Zazu exclaimed. "If it weren't for _you_, the princess would've never had the chance to-!"

"Uh, hey guys?" Pumbaa interrupted.

"WHAT?!" They both replied in unison. The warthog used his right hoof to point inside the den, and one look in that direction made Timon and Zazu fall silent and stunned. After kings-only-know how many hours of searching and worrying for their safety, there the cubs were, just sleeping soundly without a care in the world. The three of them were struck utterly dumbfounded.

"Wha… h-how? Why?" Timon started.

"How in the world did they get in here?!" Zazu exclaimed confusedly, sounding both annoyed and relieved. Nadra answered, "Oh, they knew you guys would be looking for them, so they hid in the back behind all those rocks."

She motioned her head in the direction of the back of the den, showing them where she meant, and then rested it back down as she finished tiredly, "It was Kovu's idea. You three didn't suspect it for a minute. They had a nice time here, especially without you, _Zazu_."

Timon and Pumbaa didn't even notice that their jaws were hanging open right then. If there were ever a moment where Zazu's dignity was at it's absolute low point, it was right then when Nadra spoke his name the way she did. He couldn't help but blush from embarrassment. Not just from losing Kiara when she was largely his responsibility, but with how he hadn't even thought of searching the back section of the place. Kiara alone had been known to resort to tricks like that to evade Timon and Pumbaa, and with Kovu around, it was no surprise they pulled it off.

"Well… That was kind of clever." Pumbaa admitted. "They're good hiders."

"I don't believe this." Simba now said, sounding somewhat dismayed. "Both of them disobeyed me? They were supposed to stay put until tomorrow!"

"And they did." Nadra chuckled. "For the most part. Kovu just wanted to have Kiara around, that's all. They didn't leave my sight after that."

"But they were… I told them… you…"

Simba just didn't know what to say. Nala then spoke to him, "Oh, it's not so bad, Simba." She reassured him. "They're safe, and that's what matters. Besides, they're only cubs. It's not like we never did anything like them at their age."

"I suppose." Simba replied, coming over and sitting beside Nadra. He peered down at the sleeping children, watching Kovu shift around in his spot. He gently rubbed Kiara's fur, feeling her steady breathing, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of his daughter seeming so peaceful right then. With a deep breath, he said calmly, "Sleep tight, princess."

He looked over to Kovu and stroked the tuft on his head. "You too, kiddo."

Nadra couldn't help but chuckle. Eventually, Simba simply accepted the situation and let it go. This time, at least. He stood back up and turned his attention back to the pride's lionesses, where they were all ready to share their night's hard-earned food for the evening. As they did, none of them noticed a familiar set of eyes watching from the outside, from none other than Rafiki. He smiled and gazed up to the cloudless sky, where the stars were beginning to glimmer against the purplish-yellow dusk sky. He chuckled.

"Kovu will bring us much good fortune. I am certain of it, Mufasa."


End file.
